


A Fortuitous Exchange

by kickcows



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Explicit Language, F/M, First Dates, POV First Person, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-08-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 05:52:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1593971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kickcows/pseuds/kickcows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Axel's got a crush on a sophomore at school, but is too chicken to say anything to her. Rated T for language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to this amazingly talented [artist](http://mrbenvey.tumblr.com/).

For all intents and purposes, Xion is 16, and Axel is 19. This is my first time writing a strictly het story for this fandom, and writing in this type of style. I hope it's not too OoC. All characters belong to Squeenix, except my writing. Please enjoy!

* * *

 

The crisp autumn air was still, as I took a deep drag of the death stick stuck to the bottom of my lip. I could smell the vapor hitting my gloves, but I didn’t care. Everyone knew I smoked. It wasn’t some secret I was ashamed of. No, that was about a hundred yards away. And it wasn’t that I was ashamed of it, no. It was my secret though. I took the smoke out of my mouth with my right hand, tapping some of the ash off the tip as my eyes were drawn towards that particular secret.

“You stalkin’ her again?” My best friend sat down next to me, the sunglasses he always wore blocking his eyes from me.

“If I say yes?” I took another deep drag of my smoke, the hit of nicotine finally hitting my system, achieving the lightheadedness I was looking for. “And what the hell are you doing here? Thought you had detention first period.”

“Teacher let me out early.” Vanitas grabbed the pack of smokes off the ledge, where I had so precariously left them, and lit one with his Zippo. “And, I had a feeling you’d be out here.”

“And what.” I dropped the smoke on the ground, pushing the heel of my boot down on it, making sure it was completely extinguished. I pulled my own Zippo out of my pocket and began to fiddle with it nervously.

“When are you going to talk to her?” Vanitas blew smoke in my face, as he began laughing. I pushed his shoulders back, almost making him fall of the edge of the wall. “Quit it, bitch! I almost fell!”

“Don’t blow smoke in my face. You know I can’t stand it.” I turned away, and leaned against the wall. “Maybe at lunch. But, probably never.”

“You know, you can’t do anything unless you actually, you know, tried.” Vanitas grinned, taking another drag of his smoke. “Don’t be such a chicken shit, Axel.”

I knew he was right. I was acting like a chicken. But, it didn’t help that I was more than likely three years older than her. Hell, maybe I was more. I knew she was a sophomore, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t skip a grade. Unlike me, who flunked my junior year, and got held back. I was the oldest senior at the school, practically twenty years old. A loser. A freak of nature, who had bright red locks of hair that I occasionally wore pointed outwards. Today was not one of those days, though. I was too lazy when I got out of bed, so I just threw it into a sloppy ponytail.

“What are you two doing over here?” The missing piece to our clique showed up, a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck.

“Good morning to you too, Luna.” Vanitas finished his smoke. “You’re so chipper this morning.”

Saix, the third to our trio, wore a look of pure hate. “I hate being here this early.”

“As do we all.” I pushed away from the wall, and grabbed my bag. “But, the bell for homeroom is about to ring, so we should probably make our way to our classes. Unless you want detention again.” I shot a look over my shoulder, making sure Vanitas had begun to move, which he had.

“I didn’t get detention for ditching.” Vanitas walked on one side, while Saix walked on the other side, leaving me in the middle. “I got detention for cheating.”

Saix snorted. “Right. Cheating.”

“Cut it out, man!” Vanitas reached across, but I was quick to stop his hand from going any further. “Ax, I wasn’t gonna-”

“I don’t care. You know how I feel about that shit. You two ladies need to straighten up, or figure something out.” I let go of his hand, and pushed the door open to the hallway where our homerooms were. “I’ll see you guys at lunch?”

“Only if you ask her out.” Vanitas grinned, darting off down the hall. His homeroom was at the other end of the lengthy hall, whereas ours were next to each other, right where we were.

I lowered my head, feeling Saix’ eyes on me. “Is he talking about who I think he is?” Saix asked, speaking low enough that no one else could hear us. Not that it would have mattered, as lockers were constantly being slammed, and kids were talking all around us.

“Maybe.” I had taken off my black gloves, and shoved them into my coat’s pockets, my hands now shoved into my pants pockets. “Doesn’t matter. I won’t.”

“You should. What’s the worst that’ll happen?” Saix said. The warning bell rang. “Guess I’ll see you at lunch.” I nodded my head, as he walked across the hall to his homeroom.

Turning on my heel, I walked into my homeroom, and saw the desk I had claimed as my own at the beginning of the year unoccupied. I walked over to it, and dropped my bag down, lowering my head onto my arms. Homeroom was the most pointless class of the day. It lasted exactly 14 minutes - no more, no less - and there were all grades in it, frosh to senior. As much as I loathed the class, there was a bonus to those fourteen minutes. I got to look at the girl that was starting to get under my skin. But, she didn’t know I existed, and I was sort of okay with that. I’d rather observe her from afar, than have her actually pay attention to me.

Every day it was the same. She would walk in with her best friend, some blonde kid with spiky hair that could rival mine. They were practically attached at the hip. I may be just a tiny bit jealous of him, but only for the fact that he gets to be so close to her, while I have to suffer from a distance. I closed my eyes, seeing those bright cobalt eyes of hers behind my lids. I knew she was here, but she wasn’t in class yet.

The last bell rang, the rest of the students racing to grab their seats. The spot she normally occupied was empty. I tried to not get upset by that, as I knew I had just seen her, but whatever. If she was going to ditch, then I guess I’d just have to see her tomorrow.

“Is this seat taken?”

The bile began to rise up in my throat, as I realized that it was her voice speaking to me. Lifting my head up, I shook my head, and tried not to show just how nervous I was. She took a seat in front of me, setting her notebook on the desk, crossing her legs, facing them out towards the row, rather than under her desk. My eyes went to the hem of her black skirt, staring at the purple paisley patterned tights she wore underneath, eyes traveling down to the lace up boots that she wore.

Our homeroom teacher began taking attendance. “Why are you sitting back here?” I heard myself asking the question, but was more than shocked that I had actually said something to her. “Where’s that guy you’re always with?”

“Who? Roxas? Oh, he’s out sick today.” She kept her body turned to the side, as she spoke to me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t immensely turned on by her perfect poise. “Here!” She called out, as the teacher called out her name.

“Bummer.” I didn’t know what to say to that. I couldn’t stand the dude, so why should I feign interest in him?

Announcements began to blare over the speaker, none of the students paying attention. Even our teacher had taken a seat and had picked up his newspaper. “Your hair looks nice today, Axel.”

“You know my name?” I sat up, shaking my head. My hair flopped around, covering half of my face. The sound of her laughing made the hairs on my arms stand up.

“Everybody knows your name.” She turned more towards me, a smile on her face. “Do you know my name?”

I knew she was teasing me. How could I not know her name, when it was the one I would whisper as I drifted to sleep at night? “Xion.”

“You do know it!” She clapped her hands, smiling more. “Oh, how I wish Roxas was here. He kept saying no one would know what my name is. Just kept saying how everyone would just call me ‘no one’.”

“That’s terrible.” I leaned forward. “Why would you hang around him, if that’s what he would say?”

“Oh, he was just teasing me.” Her cobalt eyes were mesmerizing, and I couldn’t look away. “You’re a senior, right?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “I am.”

“You seem like you’re much older than the other seniors around here.”

“It’s cuz I am.” I winked at her, smiling as I caught her blushing. “I’m old enough to be your dad.”

“Are not.” Her giggles made me feel more at peace than I had been in a long time. “I’m sixteen.”

“Totally old enough to be your dad.” I grinned, leaning back in the chair. “If I had you when I was 3.”

“Gross!” She burst out laughing, a few of the people sitting around us looking over at the two of us. I glared at them, which made them all snap their heads.

The bell rang then, and it was the worst sound. For once, I didn’t want homeroom to be over. I watched her stand up, drawn to those eyes once more. I stood up, grabbing my bag, not wanting to be late to my next class, which was two halls over.

“Have a nice day, Axel.” Xion said, as we walked out of the class together.

“You too, Xion.” I waved, and began to walk to where I needed to go.

“Holy shit, dude!” Vanitas came walking up towards me. “Did I just hear you say her name out loud?”

Groaning, I grabbed onto his arm. “Come on. We’re going to be late if we don’t move faster.”

“No, but seriously, did you just-”

“I’ll tell you about it later.” I hissed out, not wanting to go into the details just yet. I was still a bit rattled by the sound of her laughter so close to my ear. I wanted to commit it to memory, before it slipped away too fast.

I didn’t get to tell Vanitas until it was lunchtime. Back outside in our usual spot, I handed him a smoke, before taking my own and lighting it with my Zippo. “Yes, I spoke to her. But, not by choice.”

“Wait, Sai is coming over right now.” Vanitas held up his hand. I groaned, and rolled my eyes. The bitter cold was still there, but with the sun shining down, it wasn’t as brutally cold as it had been earlier. “I know he’s gonna want to hear this.”

“Hear what?” Saix handed us both slices of pizza, before taking a seat on the bench opposite from where we sat. “Did something happen? Am I going to have to wait for you guys after school again? You know I hate waiting.”

“Nope. Even better.” Vanitas took a long drag of his smoke, exhaling it away from the three of us. “Axe here actually spoke to her.”

“You didn’t.”

Groaning, I covered my face. “Shut up!”

“He was just about to tell me what had happened.” Vanitas smirked, leaning against the wall. “So, continue, Axe. Let’s hear all about it.”

I took a drag of my smoke, and set my lunch down. “I guess her boyfriend was sick today, and for whatever strange reason, she decided to take the seat in front of me in class. And then, she began to talk to me.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Vanitas lowered his shades. I looked him straight in the eyes, and gave a small shrug of my shoulders. “Holy shit! No fucking way!”

“Is he really her boyfriend?” Saix interrupted Vanitas’ explosive tirade. “Or, are you just calling him that?”

“What do you think?” I took another drag of my smoke. “Doesn’t matter, right? It’s not like this is going to become habit. He’ll be back tomorrow, fit as a fiddle, and I’ll just be stuck in the back corner. All by myself.”

“Don’t wanna be, all by myself anymore!” Vanitas started to sing at the top of his lungs, dropping his smoke on the ground.

“Would you knock it off?” I groaned, covering his mouth with my hand. He kept singing, albeit muffled. Saix began to chuckle, the sound making the both of us stop what we were doing.

The sound stopped, once he realized what we were doing. “What? Something the matter?”

“First, he says her name. Now, you’re laughing?” Vanitas picked up his slice of pizza. “What the hell is going on with you guys today? Is it opposite day? Did I miss the memo?”

I knocked into Vanitas’ shoulder, smirking. “Nah, not opposite day. Maybe it is bizarro day. That would make more sense.”

“We hangin’ out after school?” Vanitas asked.

“What do we always do?” Saix picked up his bookbag.

“Hang out?” I replied, being a smart ass. I couldn’t help it. My friends knew how to cheer me up, even if it was to make fun of my pathetic ass. “Get a ride home from you because it’s way too fucking cold to walk?”

“Ah, I see. Just use me for my wheels.” Saix began to walk towards the school. “See you in a couple of hours.”

The bell rang, signaling lunch was finished. I dropped my smoke, hastily eating my pizza. “Time to suffer.” Both Vanitas and I headed back into the school, the warmth of heat a welcomed relief on my body.

“Catch ya in a bit, Axe.” Vanitas headed up the stairs to his class, as I headed towards mine.

I saw Xion standing next to a girl that I was good friends with, but thought nothing of it. “Hurry up, Axel, or you’re going to be late!” Namine shouted at me, laughing as she pointed at the clock.

“Shut up, Nami!” I shouted at her, as I began to dart through the other students, making my way to my class. I could hear Xion laughing, that sound going straight to my heart as it had done earlier in the morning. Why she was even with Namine was a mystery, but one I couldn’t dwell on. I ran into my class with two seconds to spare, and sat down, trying not to wheeze from the lack of oxygen currently not in my lungs.

After breezing through my last three periods, school was finally over. I headed to my locker, and saw Namine at her locker. Walking over to her, I saw she was putting some books into her bookbag.

“You going to the library to study?” I asked. If I didn’t go home with Saix, I usually hung out in the library with her. As much as I hated doing homework, there was a reason I was held back in school. Namine had befriended me in my repeat year, and had kept me in line academically.

She shook her head. “No, I’ve got somewhere I need to be.”

“Say, why was Xion speaking to you?” I asked casually. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

Namine smiled knowingly at me, something I didn’t quite like seeing. “She was just asking me about something I have knowledge on.”

“Oh?” I asked. “And what’s that?”

“None of your business.” She stuck her tongue out at me, making me laugh.

“Cute, Nami. Real cute.” I patted her on the head, smirking as she tried to duck out of the way. “FIne, be that way.”

I walked through the near empty halls, and made my way outside. I saw both Saix and Vanitas waiting for me, leaning against Saix’ ride. I holstered my bag over my shoulder, and made my way down the short flight of stairs.

“Axel?” A petite person was at my side. I stopped walking, when I realized just who it was. “Do you walk home?”

Xion stood there, the hood of her black jacket over her head. “Sometimes. Why? Do you live nearby? Does your boyfriend usually walk you home?”

“He’s not my boyfriend. Roxas is gay. I don’t have what he wants, and even if I did, ew.” She laughed. “But yes, we usually walk home together.”

I could see Vanitas humping the side of Saix’ car, as Saix gave a nod of understanding to me. I watched them get in the car, and take off. Never mind Vanitas screaming at the top of his lungs as they drove off. I knew I was going to be getting a phone call, but it didn’t faze me. As freezing as it was, I really would rather have been in the car, but I couldn’t pass this chance up to talk to her some more. Pulling the gloves out of my pockets, I put them on my hands.

“I can walk you home, if you’d like. I don’t live that far from here.” 

“Thank you.”

The two of us began to walk, with her leading the way on which way to turn. I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a smoke. Her hand closed over my hand, stopping me in my tracks for the second time today. “Could you not smoke around me? I have a bad allergy.”

“You got it.” I put the smoke back into my pack, my skin still tingling from where she had touched me. 

“Axel? Can I ask you something?” Xion pointed to the fork in the road we had come to, and went the way she directed.

“I don’t see why not.” I tightened the scarf around my own neck, the wind beginning to pick up. “Unless it’s something silly. Then, no. No silly questions.” I grinned, unable to stop myself.

The hood that had been hiding her face from me was pushed back, revealing disheveled hair. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Out of all the questions, that was the one I was not expecting. I stopped walking, I was so shocked by it. Blinking a few times, I looked at her, and saw a smile on her face. If it was cold, I no longer cared. The warmth from her smile was keeping me cozy, and it was making me fall even more head over heels for her than I was before. When I remembered she had asked me a question, I gave a shake of my head.

“Why not?” She asked. I caught up to where she was. “Or, are you gay?”

“Gay?!” I laughed, unable to stop myself. “No, I’m not gay. But, I am happy.” She giggled, pleased that she had gotten my joke. “I don’t know? Because no one would date a loser like me. I should have graduated last year, but I’m still stuck in high school because I couldn’t be bothered to do my school work.”

We began to walk up towards her house. “I don’t think you’re a loser.” Xion replied quietly. “I think you’re a nice guy, and anyone that would say you’re a loser is not worth your time.”

“You’re too kind, kid.” I patted her head, but stopped when she glared at me. “What? What’d I say wrong?”

“I’m not a kid!” She grabbed her keys out of bag. “Thanks for walking me home, Axel. This kid appreciates it.”

“Wait, Xion!” I shook my head. “I didn’t mean anything bad by that!” I groaned, feeling so stupid. Did I really just fuck it all up because I made some silly comment? “Look, if you really want to know, the reason I don’t have a girlfriend is because I like someone, but I’m too chicken to tell them.”

She paused at the door, her keys hanging off of one finger. “Why would you be chicken? That seems like a silly excuse to me.”

“You’re right. It is.” I took a deep breath. “Xion? Want to go see a movie with me on Friday night? My treat?”

The sound of the keys hitting the ground made my heart stop. “What did you just ask?”

“You said it was a silly excuse. You were right.” I bent down and picked up the keys, pressing them into the palm of her hand. “Will you go on a date with me on Friday?”

“Me?” Her blue eyes were wide with wonder. “Me?? But, I…”

“You, what?” I asked, the smile beginning to slip away. “You got a boyfriend? Right, whoops. I shoulda asked you that first. Forget I said anything.”

“No!” Xion shook her head. “No, stop! No, I was supposed to be the one asking YOU out!” She laughed, taking the keys from my hand. She threw her arms around me, as I quickly caught her in my arms.

She felt perfect. Everything about her body against mine in this innocent hug was more than I had ever thought of in my head. Reality was definitely pawning my fantasies, and it seemed that it was only going to get better. I held onto her tightly, refusing to let her go, afraid that if I did that would be it.

“So, what do you say? A movie and dinner with me on Friday?” I asked her, keeping her close to my body.

“Of course!” She nodded her head. Her lips brushed against my cheek, the soft kiss sending a shiver racing through my body. “See you tomorrow at school?” She put the key into the lock, leaving me standing there in a daze.

“Yeah. Tomorrow.” I snapped out of it, and began to walk back down the path. When I was far enough away, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. It had been vibrating nonstop for the past five minutes, no doubt Vanitas sending me text after text to harass me.

Looking at the screen, I was right. Glancing at the street sign, I saw that I was only a few blocks from my house. Hoofing it, I dialed Vanitas’ number from memory. I knew he’d pick up right away, and he did.

“What the hell took you so long?” He shouted into the phone. I pulled it away from my ear, laughing. “Oh, shit. Sai. Sai, he’s laughing. This can’t be good, man.”

I pulled the smokes out of my pocket, and threw them into the first trash can I saw. “Oh, it’s good, alright. Guess who’s got a date on Friday night?”

“SHUT UP.” Vanitas started howling with laughter.

“What is wrong?” Saix was suddenly on the phone, Vanitas’ laughter muffled. “Did something happen, Axel?”

“Yeah.” I walked into my house. “I’ve got a date on Friday night.”

“With her?”

“Yup.”

“It seems like we were right, then.” Saix stated matter of factly.

“It appears so.” I grinned, plopping down on the couch. “But, don’t worry. You guys are still stuck with me.”

“Joy.”

“Give me the phone, Sai. I want to talk to him!” Vanitas shouted. I pulled the phone away once more, groaning as my ear began to ring. “Ax, you really gonna go out with her?”

“I am.” I said, closing my eyes, my cheek still tingling from where she had kissed me. “Who knows, maybe she’ll be my girlfriend.”

“Atta boy!” Vanitas chuckled. “See you at school tomorrow?”

“You got it.”

I hung up the phone, and stood up. Heading back to my room, I flopped down on the bed. Guess I gotta start actually caring more about my appearance now. I snorted, and took my hair down. I wonder what her best friend is going to think about all of this? Eh, who the fuck cares. I got myself a date, with the girl I never thought would even consider me dating material!

* * *

 **A/N** : Thank you for reading! Oh, and the artist I dedicated this to has drawn some wonderful artwork for this chapter, that you can find [here](http://mrbenvey.tumblr.com/post/87411021577/here-a-few-doodles-that-i-draw-while-being).


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning five minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I couldn’t believe I had actually fallen asleep, as all I could do was think about what was going to happen in two days. Well, tomorrow now, since that was the night before.

Rolling over, I turned off my alarm and stood up, yawning loud as I stretched my arms up high above my head. “Shit!” I grabbed my bathrobe and slipped it on. It was freezing in my bedroom. I don’t remember it being that cold the night before. Trodding over to my window, I took a peek outside, and understood why it had been so bitterly cold the day before. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The ground had a layer of white on it, the sky filled with clouds. It was still a little too early for the sun, but I had a feeling the bright ball of fire in the sky would not be gracing us with its presence today. I grabbed my phone, and sent a quick text to Saix, asking him if he’d come pick me up. I hated to walk to school in this weather, even if it had stopped snowing. I set my phone back down, and went and headed off to the bathroom for my ritual morning shower.

When I got back to my bedroom, I checked my phone and saw that Saix had graced with me with a ‘Fine’ response. I got dressed in a pair of black pants, and red thermal, throwing a black tshirt on top of it. I had decided to wear my hair the same way I had the day before, piling it up into a ponytail. Before I knew it, Saix pulled up to my house and honked his horn once to get me outside.

Slipping my long coat on, I pulled the gloves out of my pockets and put them on. I picked up my bookbag and left the house, walking briskly towards my chariot. I saw someone sitting in the front seat, so I quickly opened the back door, and hopped in.

“Morning, Axe.” Vanitas waved a hand, as he yawned. I rolled my eyes, and looked over at Saix, who had pulled away from the curb.

“Thanks for picking me up, Sai. It’s too fuckin’ cold to walk to school this morning.” I sank back, enjoying the temporary warmth the car provided. I didn’t want to take off my gloves, as I knew we’d be at school relatively soon.

“Yes, well. I thought it was a given when it snows.”

“I still can say thanks, can’t I?” I asked, seeing the grimace on Saix face slowly turn up in a smile. I turned my attention towards the brunette. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect to see you.”

“Asked for a ride last night.” Vanitas shrugged his shoulders. “Had a feeling it was gonna snow. Too bad school wasn’t canceled, eh?” He turned to look at me, the look in his amber eyes made me chuckle. “What?”

“You just look for any excuse to get out of school, don’t you?” We pulled into the student parking lot, and headed towards the back of the lot.

“Can you blame me?” Vanitas turned back around. “I hate this place.”

“Yes, so do I.” Saix put the car into park. “Am I going to be shuttling you two doofuses home as well?”

I opened my door, and got out. “I guess, if that’s okay? I mean, if it warms up, then nah. You don’t gotta worry about it.” I holstered my backpack on my shoulder.

“Wait. Aren’t we gonna go for a smoke before class?” Vanitas asked, leaning against the car door.  
“Nope. I quit smoking.” I shook my head. “Gotta get some homework done.”

Vanitas held his hand out, stopping me from walking. “Did you just say you quit? Since when??”

“Last night.” I removed his arm, and began to walk. “I’ll see you ladies at lunch?”

“Bye.” Saix gave a small wave before I turned to look where I was going.

“Did he say he quit?” I heard Vanitas ask our mutual friend, and I couldn’t help but cover my mouth before the laughter spilled out of me.

I could see why he would be confused, as I had smoked with him yesterday, but since Xion said she had an allergy, I didn’t want to smell like smoke. I made it through the rest of the night without smoking, I surely could last a day without touching a death stick. I headed into the building, and walked to my homeroom class.

There were only a couple of kids sitting in their seats, but none of them paid any mind to me. I headed back to my desk, and sat down. Pulling my notebook out of my bag, I got started on the homework that I hadn’t bothered with the night before. I know, I know, I should have done it, but honestly, my mind was elsewhere. Can you blame a guy for not wanting to spoil what had been a rather lovely afternoon with disgusting homework? Yeah, me either.

The warning bell rang, bringing me out of my concentration. I put my notebook back in my bag, satisfied with the work I had been able to finish, and tried not to keep my eyes glued to the door. I knew that at any minute, she would be walking through, and I didn’t want to make it seem like I was waiting for her. Even though I was, but I didn’t want anyone else to know about it. I began to fidget, as the minutes ticked by, and still no sign of her.

Just as the bell was about the ring, she came strolling into class, laughing at whatever the blonde was saying. I tried not to glower, a tad bit upset that he had come back to school, but I knew it was inevitable. They both sat in their normal seats in the front, keeping their backs turned towards me. I could feel my heart literally breaking, as I didn’t get to say hi to her. I pushed the sadness away, realizing how silly it sounded, and just focused my energy on remembering to say ‘Present!’ when my name was called. I think I said it, as the teacher kept calling names after my name came up on the roster, but I didn’t remember actually speaking. All I could do was look at the back of her head, and wonder why it was she hadn’t bothered to say good morning to me. One day of acknowledgement was all it took, even though she had never bothered to say anything to me before yesterday, like, ever. But now, after I had asked her out on a date, and didn’t receive a hello? Yeah, my body was starting to ache, and not in a good way.

The fourteen minutes that had seemed like they flew by the day before were feeling like they would never fucking end. I wished I hadn’t finished my homework, as I would rather stare at my notebook than watch Xion laugh at whatever it was that twit sitting next to her was talking about. I caught his eye, and quickly looked away, feeling disgusted that he had caught me staring at the two of them. The bell finally rang, bringing me salvation. I grabbed my bag and walked out the back door quickly, not really wanting to watch the two of them interact any longer.

“What’s the matter?” Saix asked, as he walked out of his classroom. “You seem upset.”

“Nothing. Can we just go to our class?” We switched our class order on Thursdays, and my next class was with my lovely best friend. “I don’t want to talk about it out here.” The hallway was beginning to become crowded with all the homerooms letting out.

We began walking towards our class, when I felt a hand on my back, gently tugging on my coat. I turned around, and saw Xion standing there, a timid smile on her face. “Morning, Axel. I didn’t get to say hi to you earlier. I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s no big deal.” I gave a shrug of my shoulders. It really was a big deal, but I didn’t want her to know just how bothered by her not acknowledging me, and how I had let it hurt me. It would seem silly and stupid, as we only just started to talk yesterday, but still. I played it off like it wasn’t that detrimental to my well being.

I saw a look of hurt cross her bright blue eyes. “Oh, I see.” She kept her head down. “Well, have a good day, then.” She began to walk away.

Reaching out, I pulled her towards me, hugging her close from behind. “I’m not good at this stuff,” I spoke softly into her ear. “Please, don’t be upset.”

She shook her head, and placed a hand over mine. “I’m not upset. Can we talk at lunch? Or, after school? Will you walk me home again?”

“What about blondie?” I asked, my arms falling off of her. I turned and saw Saix was still waiting for me, grateful that he wasn’t giving me shit for holding him up.

“He’ll be there.” Xion turned around to look at me. “Is that okay?”

“Sure, sweetheart.” I grinned, trying to keep my jealousy in check. “Then, I’ll see you after school?”

She nodded, and quickly ran off towards wherever her next class was. I may be a stalker, but I really had no idea what her class schedule was like. I knew where she ate lunch, and that sort of thing, but everything else was a mystery to me. We began to walk class, my emotions seeming a little bit calmer now.

“Want to tell me what that was about?” Saix asked, as we sat down at our desks for our first class of the day.

“Nothing. Thought I’d get to talk to her, but her and that dweeb came in just before the bell rang, and she never bothered to say hi.”

“That sure sounds like something.” There was a smirk on my best friend’s face, which I chose to ignore, as I knew he was probably enjoying my misery.

I rolled my eyes. “I know it does. Which is why I’m trying not to let it bother me, okay? She had her reasons. But, as you saw, she did come and speak to me, so it can’t be all that bad.”

“So, you’re going to walk her home? What if it’s snowing? I don’t want to shuttle two strangers home, Axel.”

“I know that. I’d never ask you to do that.” The thought had crossed my mind, but seeing his reaction meant that I could never bring it up. I respected that.

Our teacher began class, so the chitchat had to wait until our next break. Which was cut short because class ran too long. Our next class wasn’t together, so I just told him we’d talk at lunch. When that time finally rolled around, I went out to our usual spot, which had a fine layer of white still sticking to it, but no more had fallen out of the sky. I put my sunglasses on, shading my eyes from the terrible whiteness. Even though the sun had yet to make an appearance behind the clouds, it was still bright in the gloominess, thanks to the snow.

“Are you going to tell us why you quit?” Vanitas walked over, carrying a slice of pizza for me in one hand, while he carried one for himself in the other. “Because you were smoking yesterday, man. What the hell happened?”

“She’s allergic to it.” I shrugged my shoulders, and folded my slice in half. I began to eat, ignoring the scoffs that were coming from my other best friend.

“What? She’s making you quit? I mean, you guys haven’t even gone out on your date yet! How the fuck is she changing you so fast, that you’ll just quit cold turkey?”

I kept my cool, and glared at him with narrowed eyes. “She’s not changing me, you dumbass. I’m choosing to change myself. Sure, it might be because she’s allergic to the smell, and doesn’t like how it is. Yes, we haven’t gone out on our date yet, but it doesn’t mean I can’t try and be a little bit better.”

“I miss the old Axel.” Vanitas lamented, after taking a deep drag on his cigarette. I had to admit, the smell of the smoke was making my blood sing, that wicked rush from the nicotine suddenly burning in my veins.

Looking out across the yard, I saw Xion with that blonde. She looked over at me at the exact same moment, but my sunglasses were keeping my eyes hidden. Still, she locked onto them, making that craving suddenly disappear, the need gone as soon as it had manifested. Now what I needed was her. To hear her laugh, to see her smile. My lips curled up into a smirk, and I saw that smile that my chest was aching for, the void suddenly filled.

“Shut up.” I smacked him on the shoulder with my hand, after finishing the rest of my pizza. “I’m still me, fucker. What are you going to do if she and I end up getting serious?”

“Won’t happen.” Vanitas taunted, a smirk on his face.

“Why not?”

“Cuz, you’ll mess it up somehow.” Vanitas laughed, as he took another drag off his smoke. “Isn’t that right, Luna?”

Saix sighed audibly. “If he does, he does. It’s not our place to say otherwise, Vanitas. You should know this. He doesn’t bother you when you mess something up.”

“But I-” Vanitas countered quickly.

“Enough.” I held up my hands. “Look, I appreciate your concern about me. Let’s see how this goes, okay? You’re right, Van. I’ll probably fuck it up somehow, as I’m prone to do when I care about shit.” I sighed, wishing I had kept my hair down, so I could run my fingers through it. It was a bad habit of mine, but seemed to help calm me down when I needed it. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. “Look, I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

“What? Now he’s not coming home with us again?” Vanitas groaned. “Sai, what the fuck?”

“It’s his choice.” Saix’ voice grew distant as I headed into the school.

If I had stuck around, I would have just grabbed a smoke off of Vanitas and lit it up. He was right. I wanted to have a smoke badly, but I knew that if she smelled it on me, I’d be doomed. I reached into my bag, and pulled out a butterscotch candy. Popping it into my mouth, I headed towards my art class.

I saw Namine sitting at an easel, painting something with pastel colors. I took a seat next to her. Leaning over, I spoke directly into her ear. “Boo.”

“Axel!” She hit my shoulder, making me laugh. “That wasn’t very nice!”

“Sorry, Nami. I couldn’t help it.” I grinned, and picked up my pencil. We were supposed to continue work on an assignment we had received at the beginning of the week.

“Axel?” She went back to her painting, while I began to work on my drawing.

“What is it?”

“You don’t smell like smoke today.” Namine looked over at me, a smile on her face. “Did you stop finally?”

Blushing, I looked back at my work. “Maybe I did.”

“Did you do it for yourself?”

“I had help.” I replied, knowing she would know just what I meant. I could hear her squeals of delight, and suddenly felt a weight against me. Coughing, I hugged her back gently, surprised by her sudden outburst of affection.

“I’m glad she’s helping you, Axel.” Namine let go of me, and sat back down. Her white sweater almost dipped into the acrylic paint, but was pushed up her arms just in the nick of time. “Did you ask her out?”

“I did.” I felt my hand start to shake a little. “We’re going to the movies tomorrow night.”

“How exciting!”

“Yeah, yeah.” I shook my head, and looked around the room. “You gonna go out with your boyfriend?”

“Riku?” She asked, and shook her head. “No, he’s got some sort of competition this weekend out of town, so I won’t be seeing him until next week.”

“That’s a bummer.” And, for once, I meant it. I knew how much she cared for the guy. They had been dating off and on over the last year. He and I actually got into fistacuffs because he thought I was sweet on her. Not until I told him that she was like a sister to me did he finally let up and leave me alone.

“It’s okay. I’ve got plans with some of my other friends.” The blonde gave me her million watt smile.

“Can I text you, to make sure you’re okay?” I offered, not wanting her to feel alone. She helped me out so often, it was only fair of me to return the favor.

“You don’t have to, but you may.” Namine nodded.

“Great.”

When the last bell rang, I ran to my locker and grabbed the books I needed for homework that night. I went outside, and waited on the steps, keeping my coat close around me. I thought about sending a text to Vanitas, not wanting him to be pissed off at me, but decided against it. I saw him and Saix walk to Saix’ car together, seeming to be in a deep discussion.

“She’ll be here in a few minutes.” The spiky haired kid that was always attached to Xion’s hip had appeared out of nowhere. “You’re Axel, right?”

“Yup.” I looked the kid over, and saw that what she had said was right. How I didn’t spot it before was beyond me, as I thought my gaydar was pretty spot on. “You’re...Roxas?”

“Right.” He kept sizing me up. This kid, who was three, maybe four years younger than me, was making me feel uncomfortable in my own skin. What in the actual fuck? “You know that if you hurt her, that I’ll -”

“Sorry I’m late!” Xion walked over to us, a smile on her face. I stared into her eyes, getting lost for a moment. “Everything okay here?”

“We’ve introduced each other.” I gave a nod of my head. “You two ready to walk home?”

“Yes!” Xion nodded.

None of us spoke for the first couple of blocks. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say. Was I supposed to only talk to Roxas? Talk to the both of them? Talk to her? I didn’t know what to talk about. I was, for once, at a loss for words. They began to talk about stuff together, while I just hung back a few steps, listening to their conversation.

“This is my stop.” Roxas pointed to a townhouse. “You going to walk Shi the rest of the way home?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I got a little perturbed by his question. I mean, what the hell? Why wouldn’t I walk her the rest of the way home?

Roxas chuckled. “Just checking, man. No harm.” He unlocked his front door. “See ya later, Shi. Be safe, and text me when you get home, okay?”

“I will, Roxas.” Xion smile seemed to light up the entire area, the hidden sun no match for her radiating smile.

Once he was inside, the two of us began to walk towards her house. “Are we still on for our date tomorrow night?” I heard the words leave my mouth, but I honestly didn’t remember speaking them until it was too late to take the question back.

“Of course!” She nodded her head. “I’m really looking forward to it. Will you come pick me up? Or did you want to just meet at the theater?”

“I can come and pick you up.” I thought about having to ask my mom to borrow the car. I figured it wouldn’t be an issue, so may as well just commit to it now. “I won’t have you out too late.”

“I’m sure my parents will appreciate that.” She giggled, the sound music to my ears.

“Wouldn’t want to get on their bad side.” I smiled, basking in her happiness. “Hey, sorry about this morning.”

“Don’t be.” Xion’s demeanor turned serious. “I should be the one to apologize. I just….”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t know what to do.” Hearing her admit that made it all make sense. “I wanted to come and sit with you again, but then Roxas showed up at my locker, and I hadn’t had a chance to tell him about our date yet, and…”

“Xion, it’s alright.” I placed a hand on her shoulder. “I may have overreacted this morning. I think, however, I need to work on your best friend more. I don’t think he likes me.”

“No, he’s just protective of me.” Xion smiled. “He doesn’t want you to hurt me. He knows you’re an upper classman, and he just wants to make sure that you’re not after me because I’m fresh meat.”

I stared blankly at her. “I hope that’s not what you think. I do like you. Quite a lot, actually, which is why I asked you to the movies.”

“Axel, I know.” She fished her keys out of her backpack, and placed them in the lock. “I’m sure your friends are worried about me too. It’s just something friends do.”

I thought about what she said, and gave a small nod of my head. “You’re right. Saix doesn’t care, but it seems Van was a little bit upset when I said I quit smoking.”

“You quit?” The surprise in her voice made it all worth it.

“I did.” I nodded my head. “I haven’t had a smoke since lunch yesterday.”

Her arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace. I returned the hug, pleased to see just how happy she was. “Oh, Axel. That makes me so happy!”

“I couldn’t tell.” I chuckled, and kept her close. I could get used to this feeling. Her body fit perfectly against mine, as our embrace continued. “So, tomorrow at school? Will you come and sit by me again in homeroom? I kinda liked that.”

“I will.” Xion let go of me, her blue eyes bright. “See you tomorrow, Axel.”

“Bye, Xion!” I gave a small wave, before I made my way down the block and headed back towards my house.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and saw that I had no missed calls or texts. I could tell that Vanitas was still butt hurt about what had happened at lunch. Deciding to be the one to break the silence, I dialed his number.

“No traitors.” He picked up his phone almost immediately.

“Van, quit it. I’m not a traitor. I just quit smoking.”

“Because of her.”

“Because of a lot of reasons!” I shouted. Looking around, I saw that no one was around, but still. I knew I had to control my temper, or else it would end up bad. I sprinted towards my house, unlocking the door as snow began to finally fall from the sky. “Why do you have to be such a big baby about all of this?”

“I don’t want shit to change, Axe. If you guys really gel after this date, are you just gonna ditch me and Sai? Sit with her, hang out with her? Do everything with her?”

I paused for a moment. “Let me just get through this date, Van. It may end up being the worst three hours of my life. I don’t know. I just know that I like her, and she likes me back.”

“Is her brother straight?”

“Brother??” I asked, clearly confused by the question.

“The blonde.”

“Um, they’re not related.” I chuckled. “And, no. The dude is as straight as a wet noodle.”

“Hrm….” I could hear it in his voice. I knew that tone.

“Vanitas, don’t you dare.”

“You’re not my mom.”

“I never said I was, but come on. I’m not saying shit isn’t going to change, but let’s see what happens first, okay?” I dropped my bookbag on the ground, and sighed. “You’re supposed to be happy for me, man.”

“I am. We are. Both me and Sai. But, you can’t be upset when I say I’m just a little bit jealous, okay? But, fine. I won’t say anything negative until you report back to us after the date. Deal?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I knew that I was going to be damned, no matter what I decided to do. “Deal.”

“Enjoy your night, asswad.” Vanitas hung up, cackling at his own joke.

I put my phone on my desk, and felt the energy drain out of my body.

Since when the fuck did dating become such a complicated thing?

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading! Here's more [artwork](http://mrbenvey.tumblr.com/post/87617636932/yey-the-second-chapter-of-heartlessfujoshis-a)!


	3. Chapter 3

My legs were moving faster than they normally did, as I walked to school the next morning. Maybe it was because I was excited about the evening’s activities. I had already gotten permission from my mom to let me borrow her car, and she was even going to go and get it washed for me. Secretly, I think she’s glad that I’m finally starting to come out of my shell. I know that she tolerates Saix and Vanitas, but on more than one occasion, she has brought up the subject of girls, and I’ve always just changed the subject. Now that there was a girl I was interested in, she was more than happy to help me out in any way.

“Loser!!” A horn began honking, as it pulled up next to me. I looked over, and saw Saix wearing a grimace on his face, no doubt pissed off that Vanitas had decided to commandeer his horn. They stopped next to me, with Vanitas hanging out of the window, a shit eating grin on his face. “Hop in.”

Never one to turn down a free ride, I got into the backseat. “You two are on time this morning.” I remarked, getting cozy in the warmth of the car. Even though the snow had melted overnight, it was still a bit brisk. My yellow and brown striped scarf was wrapped tight around my neck. I opted for wearing my hair in its usual spikes, to give me an extra layer of warmth on my neck.

“It is not as if he did not try and make us late.” Saix muttered, eyes still focused on the road. “I was expecting to pick you up, Axel.”

“Sorry, Sai.” I looked out at the school grounds, hoping I’d get to see a glimpse of Xion before heading to class, but I didn’t see either her or Roxas in the throng of students. “I thought I’d get some of my nervous energy out, and almost jogged to school.”

“Someone’s excited about tonight.” Vanitas rolled up the window, the frigid air finally disappearing completely.

“What if I am?” I asked, trying to keep the smile off my face. I knew I looked like a dork, but I didn’t care. “Guess what?”

“You’re going to have sex with her.”

“Ew! Shut up!” I hit the back of Vanita’s head, smirking at the tiny laugh I got Saix to make. “No, dumbass. My mom is letting me borrow her car tonight.”

“Nice.” Vanitas rubbed the back of his head, making his spikes stick up more. “So, no sex?”

I flicked the earring that balanced on the tip of his cartilage. “Shut up.”

“Can’t blame a guy for tryin’.” Vanitas pushed my hand away, a grin on his face. I snorted, and shook my head.

Saix parked the car, and the three of us got out together. Vanitas walked ahead of us, lighting up a smoke as we made our way towards the school.

“You do realize that he will be calling you on the hour tonight.” Saix said, as he pushed some of the blue hair off of his shoulders. “I will try and keep him occupied, but you do know his attention span.”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “That’s why I plan on leaving my phone at home tonight.”

“Good idea.” Saix agreed, a small smirk on his face.

We parted ways in the hallway, leaving Vanitas outside to finish his smoke alone. I walked into my homeroom class, and saw something I was not expecting to see. Sitting in front of my desk was Xion’s protector. Deciding to ignore him, I sat down at my desk, and pulled out my notebook, pretending to not notice him staring me down.

“Aren’t you even going to ask why I’m sitting here?” Roxas sounded a bit ticked off. Good, it had worked.

Shaking my head, I worked on a little doodle that I had been toying around. “Nope. Don’t care.”

“You’re just being difficult on purpose, aren’t you?” The temper was quick to rise in this one. I bit my lip, not wanting to laugh at how lame he sounded, but knew that if  I did, it would probably be bad for my date tonight.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, what if I told you that she’s not coming to school today?”

That piqued my interest. I set my pencil down, and gave him my attention. “She’s not ill, is she?”

“Don’t worry, pyro.” I groaned silently, hating that everyone still called me that behind my back. Set off one small bonfire, and suddenly I’ve got the nickname pyro. It wasn’t like it was something I did every weekend. I had done it for a stupid school function, under adult supervision. Whatever.

“Could you not call me that?” I asked, looking him straight in the eye. “It’s not like I call you shorty, or spikey, or something like that.”

“No name calling.” Roxas agreed. “She just wasn’t feeling well this morning, but she said that you guys are still on for tonight. She gets these headaches sometimes, that cause her debilitating pain.”

I didn’t know what to say. “That sucks.”

“Yeah.” Roxas began to scribble something down. “Here, she wanted you to have this.” He passed me the small piece of paper with a telephone number written. “She would have given to you yesterday, but she forgot.”

“You two are really close, aren’t you?” I asked, storing the number in my phone. The bell began to ring, signalling the start of the school day.

“She’s like my sister.” The anger that had been there before was suddenly gone. “I care about her a lot. I don’t want to see her get hurt. I know that you’re older than all of us, and that you got held back a year for ditching.”

I snorted, unable to stop myself. “Is that the rumor now? Usually it’s because I did grand theft auto, or cheated on all my tests. No, I didn’t get held back for ditching. I got held back because I was an idiot, and never did any homework.”

“Really?” I seemed to have the blonde’s attention. “But I thought…”

“Don’t believe everything you hear. I’m not a pyromaniac. I’m not a thief. I’m not sleeping with one of the teachers. I don’t jump from girl to girl.” I wanted him to know that I wasn’t going to put up with any shit from him. “Here!” I shouted, as my name was called on the roll. I leaned forward, and spoke quietly. “I’m not going to hurt her. I like her. A lot.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“And you don’t know me.” I was quick to reply. “So, how about you just let her be her own person? She’s more than capable of making decisions on her own.”

“Not likely.” Roxas muttered, and turned around to face the front.

“What does that mean?” I asked, knowing I was only asking for trouble by doing that.

“The one day I’m not at school, and she ends up being asked out by you.” Roxas turned his head to the side to speak to me. “If that isn’t a poor decision, then I don’t know what is.”

“What’s your problem?” I asked, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. “You just think that because I’m an older guy, that means I’m just looking for one thing?”

“Well? Aren’t you?” He turned around, those piercing blue eyes staring daggers at me.

I rolled my eyes. “No. I’m not. I’m looking for someone to hang out with, that I think is intelligent, beautiful and many other things. Maybe you just need to get laid.” The bell rang, all the students starting to get up from their desk, myself included.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” I muttered, walking away. I couldn’t believe the nerve of that guy. I get that he wants to be all macho, and seem like he’s her protector, but give me a fucking break. I swear, if he shows up on our date tonight, I may just strangle him.

...

“Where are you at right now?” Namine asked me, her blonde hair worn in two plaits, parted down the middle. “You aren’t paying any attention.”

I sighed, and looked down at my paper. She was right. I wasn’t paying attention, not to a single thing. All I could think about was how there was only a couple more hours of school, and then I had to wait until 7 before I went to go and pick up my date. All I could think about was texting her, and asking her if she wanted to postpone, or not even bother.

“Axel?” Namine’s hand touched my shoulder, bringing me out of my daze. “Ah, there you are.”

“Sorry, Nami.” I focused on the notes that were being scribbled onto the overhead projector. “I’m just thinking about tonight.”

“Your date with Xion?”

“Yes.”

She giggled softly, the sound instantly perking me up. “Axel, you don’t have anything to worry about. She likes you. I told you that. You like her. This shouldn’t be that complicated.”

“That’s what I said last night!” I looked at her, and felt that anxiety start to disappear. “Talking to her best friend this morning didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I get where he’s coming from, but man, is it ever discouraging.”

“Well, how do you think your friends would talk to her?” Namine spoke softly, as the teacher had begun to look in our direction, but continued the lecture.

I thought about it for a moment. “I guess they’d be the same way. Especially Van.”

“Then, don’t be so hard on him.”

“Excuse me, am I interrupting you two?” Our teacher glared at the two of us. I shook my head, as I heard Namine begin to giggle into her hand. “Then, may I continue my lecture?”

Not wanting detention, I simply nodded my head, holding my witty retort inside. I wrote a note to Namine, telling her thanks, then went back to trying to pay attention to the lecture. But, it was more like I was trying to make time accelerate, so I could go home and get ready for my date tonight. But, the second hand on the clock seemed to be moving at a rate slower than was humanly possible. I chewed on the top of my pen, and began to take notes.

...

I looked at myself in the mirror, fidgeting with my tie. I was probably overdressed, but I wanted to make a good impression. I had sent Xion a text when I got home, asking her if we were still on for the evening, and she had said we were still good to go. Happy that I wasn’t going to have to reschedule, I went about the rest of the day, trying to keep myself occupied. But, now that it was ten minutes to seven, I was a mess.

My hair was up in a lazy ponytail, since I knew that’s what she liked. I had put some cologne on, hoping that I didn’t smell too much. The tie that I had chosen, a deep red skinny tie, was just barely touching the belt around my waist. I decided to pair a black buttoned up shirt, and black slacks, to offset the red. I grabbed a light grey v-neck sweater, and pulled it over my head, making sure that my tie still looked good.

“Oh, honey. You look so handsome.” My mother showed up at my door. “I got the car washed, and put gas into the tank for you. Oh, and there’s some money in the glove compartment that I want you to use tonight.”

“Moooom.” I had some money, but it was nice to know I was going to be able to treat Xion to a nice date. “I should be home before midnight.”

“Just respect her parents wishes.” She came over, and gave me a firm hug. “You smell very nice too.”

Groaning, I gave her a quick hug back. “Thanks, ma. I’m gonna go now.” I grabbed my long black coat, and put it on. I left before she could start saying something else, or worse, start to cry.

The car was parked in the driveway, all sparkly and clean. I got in, and turned the heat on full blast, wanting the car to be nice and toasty for the two of us. Reaching over, I opened the glove compartment and found the envelope with some money stashed into it. I pulled out five twenties, torn between thanking my mother, and going back inside to give her the cash back. We didn’t have a ton of money, but we were in no way poor. I just felt bad for her giving me all that without me even asking. I put the dough in my wallet, then adjusted all the mirrors to my liking, and took off.

It took me less than five minutes to get to her place by car. I parked in front of the house, not wanting to park in the driveway like it was my own personal parking spot. I saw the porch light was on, no doubt left on for my convenience. Turning the car off, I knew it would be the right thing to go up to the front door, even though my feet felt like they were encased in concrete, and I was slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Pushing my nerves aside, I went up to the front door, and knocked three times before taking a step backwards.

“Ah, hello.” A woman that looked like an older Xion opened the door. “You must be Axel.”

“I am.” I gave a small bow of my head. “I’m here to pick up Xion.”

“She’ll be right out. Won’t you come inside?” She held the door open.

Wiping my feet off on the welcome mat, I stepped into the foyer, keeping my hands behind my back. “You’ve got a lovely home, m’am.”

“Why, thank you.” 

“Hi, Axel!” Xion walked down a flight of stairs, coming right towards me.

My heart stopped when I saw her. Her hair was pulled back on the sides with two small, ruby red barrettes. She wore a fluffy white cowl-neck sweater, with a black short skirt. Pink and red paisley tights were keeping her legs warm, with her combat boots laced to the top. She looked absolutely beautiful.

“Feeling better?” I asked, surprised that my vocal chords were working, as I had very little moisture in my mouth at the moment.

She giggled softly, and took my extended arm. “I am. Thank you for asking.”

“Have her home by eleven, Axel.” Her mother requested, as I helped Xion put on her coat.

“I will have her back by ten forty-five, m’am.” I smiled my most charming smile, and held out my hooked arm to Xion. She slipped her arm through mine, and we walked outside together.

“Have a good time!” Her mother stood at the door, and waved goodbye to us.

I led her to the car, and only let go of her arm, so that I could open the door for her. “In you go.” I smiled, and watched her get into the passenger seat.

Once she was in, I closed the door gently, and walked around the car. I took a deep breath, and got into the driver’s seat. I put the key into the ignition and turned, the blast of warm air hitting our faces simultaneously.

“So, did you want to go see that new superhero movie that just came out?” I put on my blinker, and pulled away carefully from the curb, easing onto the street with no problem. “Or, was there another movie you felt like seeing?”

“I forgot that movie opened this week!” Her voice filled me with happiness, as I listened to the cheer in her voice. “We could go and see that, but if it’s too crowded, maybe we could go see the new romantic comedy that just came out?”

“Is this a test?” I laughed, the sound foreign in my ears. It had been a long time since I had felt this good, and it was a nice feeling. “If I say no, do I have to take you back home?”

“Of course not, silly.” She giggled softly. “Let’s just see when we get to the theater, okay?”

“Sounds good to me.”

We got there in no time flat, as there wasn’t a lot of street traffic this early in the evening. Being the gentleman that I was raised to be, I opened her car door for her. “I forgot to say something earlier, but you look beautiful tonight, Xion.”

“Thank you.” I saw her cheeks become pink, the smile still staying on my face. “You look pretty handsome yourself.”

“Eh, this old thing?” I closed the door, and fixed my tie playfully. “Been saving this for my graduation.” I winked, and took her arm again.

“Axel!” She laughed, and stayed close to me as we walked towards the theater together.

The new superhero movie was sold out for all the shows, so I bought us two tickets for the new romcom that she had suggested. We had about twenty minutes to kill before the film started, so we waited in line together to get some popcorn and candy.

“You know, your best friend really gave it to me today.” I mentioned casually, not knowing if she already knew about my talk with Roxas this morning. I was sure that she did, as that’s what best friends did, but I knew it was probably a good idea to just bring it up.

“I know. I’m sorry he did that, Axel.” Her blue eyes were bright under the fluorescent glow of the lights in the lobby. “I told him to just tell you I wouldn’t be there, and to give you my number.”

“What did he tell you?” I was curious to hear her side of the story.

“He just said that he was a bit meaner to you than he had meant to be.” Xion stated, matter of factly. “He told me to tell you he was sorry, and that you were right. Whatever that means.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “You don’t really want to know, Xion.”

“I like the way you say my name.” She looked up at me, and smiled. “Axel? Can I ask you a weird question?”

“Sure. But, let me get our stuff first. You want candy?”

After we bought our concessions, we headed to our theater. “What were you going to ask me?” I held the door open for her. It looked like nobody was seeing this movie tonight, except for us. We had our choice of the theater, and decided to sit closer to the back, smack dab in the middle. We both took off our coats, and sat down together.

“Oh, I was going to ask you if your tattoos hurt when you got them? And, when did you get them?”

Her question didn’t take me by surprise, as most people tended to ask about them, stranger or not. “Honestly, I can’t remember.” I handed her the soda she wanted, and then set mine down on the left hand armrest. I sat down, and turned to look at her. “I guess it did hurt, but it was so momentary, that it really wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“When did you do it?”

“When I was your age.” I smirked, thinking about how long ago that was, but in reality, it had only been about three years.

“Sixteen?! Really?! Your mother let you do that?”

I laughed, and shook my head. “Oh, no. She didn’t ‘let’ me. I did it on my own, with my own money. She unwillingly signed a waiver for me, not knowing what it was for.”

“I bet she was really happy to see the marks on your face when you got home.” Xion had started to laugh so hard, I could see the tears in her eyes.

Grinning, I nodded my head. “Oh, you have no idea. I wasn’t allowed to leave for over a month. I was a terrible kid to her that year.”

“What made you change?” She began wiping her eyes, a smile still on her face.

“Honestly? Namine.”

“Did you two ever date?”

“No.” I shook my head fast. “No, she’s more like a sister to me. She’s one of my best friends. If I hadn’t had her help, I probably would still be stuck as a junior. And, I doubt you’d want to date me if we were only a year apart.”

Her hand smacked my arm playfully. “You dummy. What makes you think I’m that superficial? I don’t care. I mean, why are you even out with _me_? I’m the underclassman. Not you.”

“Because I don’t look at it that way.” I rubbed my arm where she hit me. “And gosh, Xion, you sure do know how to hurt a guy.”

“I’m sorry!” She touched my arm, pushing my hand away. “I didn’t mean to actually hurt you.”

“Just kidding.” I winked, and patted her hand, smiling.

The lights began to dim in the theater. Feeling a little bit bold, I noticed that she had set her cup on the right arm of her chair, so our shared arm had nothing on it. I pulled it all the way up, and not so casually slipped my arm over her shoulder. Her head rested naturally on my chest, as her left hand rested on the top of my thigh. I reached over with my left hand, and set it on top of hers.

“Is this okay?” I spoke softly into her ear, not wanting to bother the other patrons that had finally started to show up into our theater.

She gave a small nod of her head, and turned her hand over, so that our palms were touching. “Yes, Axel. This is okay.”

The movie began to play, but I couldn’t tell you anything about it. I was too busy watching all of her reactions to what was happening on the screen. Watching her lips part with soft sighs when something predictable happened, or how her lips turned up in a big smile whenever something silly happened. If the aftershave I was wearing was still present, I couldn’t smell it. No, the only thing I could smell was the scent of her shampoo, a scent that reminded me of the beach. The baby powder I could also smell was intoxicating, and I hoped that when I got home, the smell would still cling to me. Being an admirer from afar, you didn’t get to experience these sorts of things. I was basking in it, and didn’t want it to go away.

Her fingers kept tracing patterns on my hand, as if she were memorizing each crease that was there. Her featherlight touches were making the task of concentrating on her rather difficult, as I turned to jello in the seat. My fingers brushed against hers a few times, and each time it happened, I could see her bite her bottom lip. She had to be feeling the same butterflies in her belly that I was feeling. There was no way that this connection wasn’t mutual. She was perfect for me, to me, just…. perfect.

Credits began to roll, as the lights began to come back on slowly. Neither of us moved from our position, as people around us began to get up and stretch. Her fingers were rubbing small circles in the center of my palm, which I kept still, even though my fingers were itching to do the same to her. The movie stopped playing, the screen going completely black, the sound of the top 40 hits starting to play through the speakers.

“I think we have to leave now.” My voice was a bit raw from not using it for the last couple of hours. I cleared my throat, not at all ready to move.

“Do we have to?” Xion looked up at me, her blue eyes bright in the dim light.

“It’s either that, or we have to pay for another ticket to see the next show.” I glanced at the watch on my wrist, which I could barely see. “Besides, I told your mother I’d have you home by ten forty-five, and if we stay for the next show, it will be past midnight.”

Reluctantly, she left the space in my arms, and stood up. “I guess you’re right.”

We put our coats back on, and headed out to the car. I kept my arm around her protectively. I didn’t want her to be cold, but I also just wanted to feel her close to me. It was a nice feeling, and one I knew I wanted to keep. I opened the car door for her, and closed it after she got settled in her seat. I got into the car, and blasted the heat, waiting for the car to warm up before I took off.

“Axel?”

“Yeah?” I looked over at her, and saw she was warming up her hands on the vents. “It’ll get warm soon.”

Turning her head, she smiled. “Thanks for tonight. I had a lot of fun.”

“I did too.” I glanced around, and began the short journey back to her house.

We got there at half-past ten, talking idly about the movie. Or rather, she was, and I just listened. I kept the car running, not wanting the heat to disappear. I put the car into park, and glanced over at her.

“Hey, Xion? Do you want to go out with me again?” I asked, feeling my nerves begin to become rattled. I couldn’t stop myself from asking her though, because I really did want to do this again. I wanted to do more with her.

“I would like that.” I looked up, and saw that she had a smile on her face. “Next Friday?”

“I can’t!” I hit my head on the steering wheel, groaning. She started to laugh, and I couldn’t help but join in with her. “Sorry, I guess I just overreacted, huh?”

“It was cute.” Xion said, still giggling softly. “Got another hot date planned?”

“No, not the way you think.” I sighed. “Gotta go visit my grandparents with my family. But, I’m free Saturday?”

I hoped that she would be too. I didn’t think I could wait two weeks to take her out again. “That works for me.”

“Wonderful.” My phone began to buzz, notifying me of the time. I turned off the ignition, and got out of the car. I opened her door, and extended my hand. “Looks like it’s that time.”

She took my hand, and pulled herself up out of the car. We walked towards her front door together, the moon starting to rise to its zenith in the sky. Her arms wrapped around my neck, as I stepped closer to her, letting my arms wrap around her protectively. I hugged her close, not at all ready for this evening to be over.

“Good night, Axel. Thank you for the lovely time tonight.” Her lips ghosted over my cheek with a soft kiss. “Have a nice weekend?”

Before her lips could brush against my cheek a second time, I turned my head fast and pressed my lips against hers. She gasped in surprise, but did not pull away from me. Her lips were softer than I had expected, and felt absolutely amazing against mine. Not wanting to go any further, I pulled away from her gently, and released my hold on her.

“Good night, Xion. Pleasant dreams.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “See you on Monday.” I walked back to my car, and quickly got back inside.

I saw her enter her house, and gave me a small wave before shutting the door, and turning off the light. I couldn’t help but notice that her other hand was still touching her lips, sending a warm feeling through my body. I turned the ignition on, and headed back to my house.

“How was the date?” My mother asked me, as I walked into the house, handing her the keys. “Did you have a nice time?”

“I had an incredible time, ma. I’m going to see her again next weekend.” I grinned, and headed back to my bedroom. My lips were still tingling from the kiss I had just stolen from her, but boy, was it worth it.

Now, I just had to get through Saturday and Sunday, so that I could see her again at school. It was going to be a very long weekend.

* * *

 **A/N** : Up next, school on Monday. Will Xion be upset with that stolen kiss? Or will something else happen? ^_^ Thanks for reading! 


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up on Monday morning a half hour before my alarm was set to go off. Instead of trying to sleep that last half hour, I got up and started to get ready, deciding to just head to school early. It wasn’t snowing, so I decided to walk to school, rather than beg Saix for a ride. There was another reason why I didn’t want to ask for a ride. It had to do with what I had dealt with all weekend long.

I had avoided all texts that Vanitas and Saix had sent me over the course of the two days, asking me about how the date went. I had told them both that it had gone fine, and that we were going to go on a second date next weekend. Both had complained, saying they had wanted to hang out, since I already had plans on Friday. I informed them it wasn’t going to be until Saturday that I had seen her, and that we could hang out on Sunday. Even though I had told them what they needed to know, they kept sending me stupid texts all weekend. But, they did make me chuckle.

My fingers would scroll to her contact in my phone, but I was too afraid to send her a text. I mean, considering what I had done at the end of our date, I think that I probably could have sent her one. But, I was too worried that she’d be upset with me. It was killing me all weekend. I figured I’d ask her today if it would be alright if I sent her a text. I didn’t want to do it without permission first.

Getting ready for the day, I decided on wearing light blue denim jeans, with a dark green sweater, as the weather on my phone said it wasn’t going to be as frigid as it had been. Grabbing my scarf, I wrapped it around my neck, and headed out, with my bookbag slung over my shoulder.

When I got to school, I saw that only a few fellow classmates were milling about. Zero period happened at seven am, but I had been lucky to avoid that period at all costs my entire tenure at the school. And, unless something changed in the spring, I planned to keep it that way. Waking up naturally early was one thing, but to wake up early like that every single day, and be expected to think and have a high brain power function that early? No, thanks. I’ll just stick with having classes until 3 every day. That suited me just fine.

I headed over to the usual spot, and waited for my two friends to show up. I knew they’d be along soon enough, as Saix wasn’t prone to being late for class. Like Namine, I met these two the year I had to repeat school. Vanitas often teased me about it, but Saix was quick to come to my defense. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for two better friends than the two of them. As if on cue, the two of them came strolling up, coming from the parking lot.

“I was going to pick you up,” Saix remarked, as he made his way over to me. “But, since you didn’t text, I figured you were good.”

Smiling, I pushed my sunglasses to rest on the top of my head. “Thanks, Sai. Nah, I decided to walk today. Might take you up on that offer after school, though.”

“What? Not gonna walk your _girlfriend_ home?” Vanitas smirked, leaning against the wall as he lit up a cigarette. “Because, you know, if Sai drove her and that sexy blonde home, I think I wouldn’t complain too much.”

I flicked his ear, enjoying the momentary pain it caused him. “Knock it off. Just because you know he’s gay doesn’t mean he’s open for business.”

“Ouch! Quit being so rude.” Vanitas grumbled, rubbing his earlobe. He took a deep drag of his smoke, and blew it in my face. “That’s for my ear. Dick.”

Saix sighed. “You two are incorrigible.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.” I looked over at my blue-haired friend, who just gave me a knowing look. “What?”

“Nothing, Axel.” Saix looked over at our mutual friend. “Why don’t you take a lesson from him, and quit that terrible habit of yours?”

“Nah,” Vanitas shook his head, taking another deep drag on his smoke.

“What if blondie has the same problem as Xion?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn’t know if it would be true or not, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a good question. “I mean, say you do ask this guy out. What if he says ‘Sorry, I don’t date smokers.’ What then?”

Vanitas began to cackle. “Like that would ever come up in the conversation.”

“He does have a point, Van. Haven’t you said some of your ex’s have complained about your smoking habits?” Saix came to my defense.

Lowering his sunglasses, Vanitas shot us both a glare. “And maybe that’s why they’re ex’s, and not currents, hmm?”

“It was just a question, Van.” I smirked. The smell of his cigarette was a little bit comforting. It had taken most of my willpower to not go out to the store and buy a pack over the weekend, as I was really fidgety after my date. I held strong, and didn’t give in, which I was pretty proud of.

“What about my questions?” Vanitas asked, dropping his smoke on the ground, and digging his heel into the ground. “Seems to me like you were avoiding them this past weekend.”

Here we go. “I didn’t feel the need to say anything.” I gave a noncommittal shrug of my shoulders. I knew that I couldn’t rely on Saix to be my backup, as I had done the same thing to him. Thankfully, the warning bell rang for homeroom. “Will I see you ladies at lunch?”

“I guess.” The three of us headed towards the school together. Vanitas gave a small wave, and headed off towards his homeroom.

“Why didn’t you reply to them?” Saix asked, as we stood in front of our classrooms.

“Because, I didn’t know what to say. I’m not sure what’s going on. I just know we’ve got a second date.”

“Invite her to sit with us at lunch?” Saix suggested. I had thought about it, but figured my friends would be put out by the suggestion.

“Maybe I will.” I gave a small wave, and headed into class.

My seat in the back was open, but it seemed that I had two newcomers to the desk in front of me, and to the side of that one. Xion and Roxas had decided to sit back there, with Xion sitting in the same seat she had sat in on the day Roxas had been out sick. I walked over to the two of them, incapable of keeping the smile off of my face.

“Looks like somebody decided to rearrange their seats today.” I sat down at my desk, setting my bag on the floor. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” I looked into Xion’s eyes, and felt my heart begin to beat faster. All it took was one simple smile, and I was a goner.

“We thought it would be nice to sit back here. See what’s so great about being further away from the teacher.” Xion smiled, crossing her legs.

Roxas snorted. “More like she wanted to sit close to you, so I just followed.”

“Roxas!” Xion swatted his arm, just like she had done to me on our date.

Laughing, I pulled my notebook out onto the desk. “Well, I guess if that’s the truth, then that’s okay.” I looked over at Roxas. “Hey, Rox, got a question for you.”

The bell trilled loudly, as our school day began. Our school’s class president came over the PA to make morning announcements, but the three of us didn’t pay attention.

“My name is Roxas.” He glared at me, that smile he had just had was suddenly gone.

“Fine, Rox-as.” I enunciated his name, and smirked when I heard Xion giggle. “You seein’ anyone right now?”

“Why, Axel. I had no idea you batted for our team.” My smirk faded away, the blonde taking it from me.

Xion sighed. “Roxas, be nice.”

“If I batted for your team, I must be doing it wrong, since I like the gal sitting in front of me.” I growled out, not at all pleased by his cheekiness. I could see Xion wasn’t to into it, and for him to say something like that, having little respect for her? What the hell did she see in this guy?

Roxas dropped the act immediately. “Sorry, Axel. I get defensive about it, as it’s not really ‘acceptable’ to be gay in this school.”

“Tell that to one of my best friends.” I raised my hand during for roll call, then turned my attention back to them.

“Which one? The blue-haired dude, or the other one?” I could see I had piqued Roxas’ curiosity.

“They have names, you know.” I snuck a glance at Xion, and saw she was watching me. Her eyes quickly darted away, her cheeks turning a soft pink. “Saix and Vanitas. You can call him Van.” I smiled, loving the fact that she was doing the same thing I was prone to do when it came to her.

“No, I’m not seeing anyone right now.” Roxas muttered, turning back towards the front.

“You two should come sit with us at lunch today.” The bell chose that moment to ring, ending homeroom. I grabbed my bag, and stood up.

“Maybe.” Both Roxas and Xion picked up their things. The three of us left together, and headed out into the crowded hallway.

Roxas began to walk away, while Xion stood directly in front of me. I could see Saix coming towards us out of the corner of my eye, but decided it was more important to pay attention to the beauty in front of me. “Will you come and sit with us at lunch?”

“Only if you promise to meet me after school?”

“Done.” I had already planned on finding her after my last class, but she didn’t need to know that. “See you in a few hours then.” I saw Vanitas was fast approaching the two of us.

“Okay, Axel.” Xion smiled, and headed off, leaving me alone with Saix.

“What was that about?” Vanitas asked, as he came up to the two of us. We headed towards our science class together, the only one that we all shared.

“Axel asked her to sit with us at lunch today.” Saix answered before I could reply.

“No shit?” Vanitas asked, setting the book we shared for class on the middle of our lab table.

I wasn’t sure if that was a good acknowledgement or not. He could be using sarcasm, as that’s what the three of us tended to rely on heavily. Or, he could be sincere, and genuinely interested. I hoped it was the latter, otherwise I was about to make a fool of myself.

“Yeah, I asked them to sit with us at lunch. And, good news. Looks like Roxas doesn’t have a boyfriend at the moment.” I casually said, opening my spiral notebook.

“No shit….” Vanitas got this far off look in his eyes, no doubt thinking about what I had just said.

After our class was over, I said goodbye to my friends, and raced towards the other side of school for my next class. I thought about finding them during our mid-morning break, but had to stay after class to talk to my teacher. It wasn’t until the lunch bell rang, did I get to see them again.

It was my turn to pick up lunch, so I headed to the cafeteria, and stood in line to get the crappiest slice of pizza. I felt someone tug on the back of my sweater. I didn’t pay any attention to it, as it wasn’t often you saw a senior in this forsaken place. Vanitas didn’t look as old as I did, so he probably didn’t get the same sort of looks I was getting. I felt another tug on the back of my sweater.

“You look like a Christmas tree.” The person who was pulling on my sweater remarked, the sound of their voice making the line no longer horrible.

Turning around, I grinned when I saw Xion standing there. “Gee, thanks for pointing that out. Is it because of the red and green?”

“Maybe.” She giggled softly, and picked up a tray. “What are you doing here? I never see you in this line.”

“Decided I should stalk you more.” I winked, before turning around to grab the two slices of pizza. Her laugh filled my soul, as we continued down the line. “Van gets lunch every other day of the week. Today is my day.”

“That’s very nice of you.” Xion grabbed a pre-made salad. Our school didn’t have a wide variety of food, but sometimes, you lucked out. Seemed like she was a winner today, as the lettuce didn’t look that old. Probably because it was Monday.

I didn’t know what to say. I had never thought about it being nice or not. Just sort of how the way things were. “Thanks, Xion.” I smiled, and paid for her lunch without her knowing it. When she tried to pay, the lady pointed at me. “My treat.” The surprise on her face was worth the extra $5.

“You didn’t have to do that.” She admonished me, but I could hear the happiness in her voice.

“I know, but I felt like it.” We left the cafeteria together. “Where’s Roxas?”

“I told him to meet me-”

“I’m here.” Roxas walked up to the two of us, with a lunch bag in his hand. “Had to get my lunch.”

“You two still gonna eat with us?” I asked, starting to walk towards our spot. I could see both Saix and Vanitas waiting patiently for us.

“I suppose so.” Roxas looked at Xion. “That’s what you want, right?”

“I wouldn’t say no.” Xion admitted.

“Come on, then.” I began to walk towards my friends. Once we got there, I handed Vanitas his pizza. “All they had was cheese.”

“Ugh.” Vanitas groaned, but took the slice from me. He put his sunglasses on the top of his head, his amber eyes shining in the sunlight. “I’m Van.”

Saix coughed into his hand. “Don’t pay him any mind. He’s just obnoxious when it comes to not getting what he wants.”

“Sai!” Vanitas shot daggers at him.

I noticed that it didn’t smell like smoke in our area, which was odd, since Vanitas usually lit up the minute the lunch bell rang. I was going to ask him about it, but I saw that he and Roxas had begun speaking. Ignoring the two of them, I looked back and forth between Xion and Saix.

“Are you Saix?” Xion asked politely, sitting on the edge of the wall. She balanced her container on her lap, and began to eat carefully.

Eating my pizza, I decided to stay out of both conversations. I could hear Roxas laughing at something Vanitas said, no doubt inflating his already huge ego. Saix and Xion began to have a discussion about literature. Looking across the field, I saw Namine with Riku, who seemed to both be watching our little dysfunctional group. I finished my pizza and threw the plate away, and walked over to where Xion was sitting, elevated on the wall.

The confidence I had at the end of our date decided to manifest itself then, as I stood between her legs, and rested my head on her shoulder. I felt her arms wrap around my back, the nonverbal invitation clear that it was okay what I was doing.

“Saix? Do you think he looks like Christmas?” Xion asked, while I kept my head on her shoulder.

“Don’t answer that.” I mumbled, trying not to let my racing heart get carried away with how close I was to her. I could feel her fingers start to scratch my back, an instant weakness of mine. I breathed heavily on her neck playfully, which she responded in kind with gales of laughter. Her hand stopped scratching, much to my disappointment.

The sound of Saix chuckling had me pulling away from her, to stare in shock at him. Vanitas, apparently, did the same, as the conversation he had been having with Roxas almost ceased completely, as we stared at our friend.

“If Christmas were as anorexic as he was.” Saix countered her question.

I stood up, and stared at him, ignoring the hysterical laughter coming from Vanitas. “I’m not anorexic!”

“It’s a joke, Axel.” Saix smirked, and patted my shoulder. “Everyone knows you’re the prettiest Christmas tree that ever was.”

Pushing his hand away, I groaned. “Oh, knock it off. Fine, I’ll never wear green again, okay?”

Luckily, lunch ended then, so no one could tell me whether or not I had to comply with that remark. I liked the color green. It wasn’t my fault that my hair was as bright as it was. It didn’t seem to garner any attention during the months of November and December. And we were so close to that time, that I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. I guess I was wrong.

“Please don’t stop wearing green,” Xion stood on her tiptoes, and spoke close to my ear. I felt my heart pang at the request, and could only nod my head.

We all gathered our things, and started to head back towards the main school building. “I’ll see you after school?” I asked her. It looked like both Vanitas and Roxas were exchanging phone numbers. I kept it to myself, wanting to find out from Vanitas later what was going on.

“Yes!” Xion nodded. “See you guys later!” Both her and Roxas took off towards their class.

Vanitas flashed the piece of paper to us. “Looks like I got his number.”

“Clearly.” I remarked, earning another chuckle out of Saix. “Thanks for letting them sit with us.”

“I like her.” Saix commented, turning towards me. “Don’t mess this up, Axel.”

It was like the world was against me. “Thanks, Sai. Glad to know I’ve got your vote of confidence. Why don’t you tell this jerk the same thing? Because, you know if he messes this shit up with Roxas, whatever ‘this’ is, then it may affect my shit.”

“Hey! I’m right here, fucker.” Vanitas punched my arm to get my attention. “I just got his number, dude. It’s not like I’m going to bang him after school.”

“Thanks for that info, Van.” The second bell rang. “Look, I’ll call you tonight. I don’t need a ride, Sai. Xion wants to meet after school.”

“You sure? I’m sure Vanitas is going to beg me to drive Roxas home, now that they’ve made a ‘connection’.” Saix teased Vanitas, who was bitching up a storm.

“I’ll be fine. Do whatever you want.” I walked away from them, and headed towards my next class.

When the last bell rang for the day, I could feel my stomach beginning to flip-flop with the anticipation of seeing her again. It was really nice, getting to spend some time with her at lunch, even though she was getting to know my friends. I really appreciated that, as it showed she cared about me, and about my friends. It was actually quite promising.

I leaned against the tree, just outside of the main building. I tried not to look at how tiny the freshmen were, but it was rather difficult. They were all so…. tiny. The doors opened, and I saw Xion walking towards me, no blond in sight. I picked up my bag, and slung it over my shoulder. She came up to me, and pressed her face against my chest, as her arms came around me in a hug.

Standing still, I returned her hug, happy to hold her in my arms. I saw others looking at us, but I paid them no mind. It was none of their business, and if they were going to judge, then fuck them. All too soon was she out of my arms, and just standing in front of me.

“Thanks for meeting me.” Xion smiled, as she pushed some of her hair off of her face. The warm sun was shining down on us, the brief reprieve in cold weather rather welcoming. “Do you want to see something neat?”

Curiosity getting the best of me, I took the bait. “Sure. What’d you have in mind?”

“You just have to follow me.” Xion took my hand, and began to lead me off of campus.

My fingers wrapped tightly around hers, as we began to head in the opposite direction of where our houses were. “Um….Xion…?”

“We’re not heading home. Not yet.” She giggled, as she looked back at me, as she was still pulling me along somewhere. Where, I had no idea. There wasn’t much in the direction we were heading, except for the community college campus, but that was a little ways away.

“Any hints to where we’re going?” I asked, keeping my palm close to hers. I felt like I was floating on air, as we walked, cars flying by us on the main thoroughfare.

She glanced back at me, a smile on her face. “Well, do you mind stairs?”

“Stairs?” I shook my head. “No? But, that’s a really weird question.”

“Do you trust me, Axel?”

We stopped walking, as I looked into her eyes. “Indubitably.”

“Good!” She laughed, and then began walking again, leaving me to wonder just where it was she was taking me, after asking such a serious question.

After walking for what seemed like forever, we had made it to the community college. “If we’re here because you want me to register for classes, don’t bother.” I took my free hand, and gave her a tiny pat on the head. “Not that I don’t intend to go, but I was going to wait and see if I may actually get into the university nearby.”

“Axel! I would never!” Xion let go of my hand. “No, but I do want you to close your eyes. Will you do that for me?”

“You gonna molest me?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows. She laughed, the sound reverberating through my body. I closed my eyes, and held out my hand to her. “Fine. Take me to wherever you want.”

We began walking again, and I silently prayed I wasn’t going to trip on anything. I heard the sound of a loud door, and then felt a gross warmth. I guess we made it back inside, but where?

“We’re going to walk up quite a few flights of stairs. Are you okay to still keep your eyes closed?” Xion asked, as we began to climb.

“This had better be worth it, Xion.” I muttered, hating how the stairs seemed to never stop. Even though I had quit smoking only a few days ago, I wasn’t quite sure my body had adapted yet. I hoped the wheezing wasn’t as loud as it sounded in my own ears.

The  sound of a door opening brought relief to me, as we had hopefully arrived at our destination. I had kept my word, and had not tried to peek at where we were going. I felt the cool air return, no longer inside the stifling building. We walked along what felt like concrete, but I was just guessing.

We finally stopped walking. “You can open your eyes now, Axel.”

My eyes adjusted to the light quickly, as they had been closed for so long. I stood absolutely still, shocked at where we were. “H-How?”

“Roxas and I would come up here after school and just hang out. It was actually his idea to show you this place. He thought you would get a kick out of it.” Xion gave my hand a tiny squeeze. “I had thought about it too, but wasn’t sure it was a good idea.”

We were on top of the clock tower, the highest building on the community college campus. The view from up here was breathtaking. I could see our school, and my house. The sun was starting to make its descent, leaving a beautiful trail of different shades of red and orange. I looked over at her, and saw that she was going to sit on the ledge.

“Is that safe?” I asked, worried she might fall.

“Probably not, but I’m careful.” She smiled, and sat down, pulling on my hand. “Sit with me?”

I sat on the ledge, but pushed myself back. Not that I had a fear of heights. I just didn’t want something stupid to happen, and then we’d never get our second date. I felt confident that she’d be fine, since it sounded like her and Roxas spent a lot of time up here.

“You should see the sunsets up here during the summer.” She sat back with me, and rested her head on my shoulder. “They’re beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you are,” I said without thinking. She looked up at me, her cheeks dusted with pink. “Oh, shit. Did I say that out loud?”

“Why did you kiss me like that?” Those blue eyes stared back at me with wonder. I knew what she was asking, without having to say it.

I tugged on my ear a little, a nervous tick of mine. “Because I was afraid to ask you.”

“I would have said yes.” Xion’s smile made me realize I had been a fool. “But, for first kisses, it was rather a nice surprise.”

Her lips brushed against my cheek with a soft kiss. “I’ll try and do better next time.” I could feel the butterflies having a field day in my stomach, as the nearness of her was sending my body into orbit.

“Saturday?” I could feel her breath on the side of my cheek, making my body tremble.

“Definitely,” I whispered. “Or, maybe….”

“Maybe…?”

I tilted my face, and brushed my lips against hers, keeping the kiss chaste. Gods, how I wanted to just give in. Her lips began to tease mine, as she kept leaving kiss after kiss. I cupped her face gently, letting our lips linger for a few moments, before pulling away gently.

“Was that better?” I asked, as my thumb rubbed her cheek with tender care. I leaned forward, resting my forehead against hers, our noses touching. I hoped that she couldn’t feel how my heart was pounding in my chest .

“Much.” Xion nodded her head, turning towards my cheek. “The sun is almost gone.”

We both looked over, and saw that it was just about to sink below the horizon. “Come on. We should probably start walking home, if we don’t want to freeze.”

Standing up together, we headed back down to stairs. I held her hand as we walked towards the main road. I stopped walking when I saw a familiar car parked in front of us.

“Get in.” Saix had lowered the passenger window, and spoke out to us. “I doubt either of you wants to walk home in this.”

I looked at Xion, who had a smile on her face. “Want a ride home, Xion?” I opened the passenger door for her, deciding to sit in the backseat.

“That would be very nice.” She got into the car, and buckled in, before I closed it, and hopped in the back. “Thank you very much, Saix.”

“Don’t mention it.” Saix merged into traffic. “Roxas said he thought you guys might be here, so I thought I would take a chance. I only just arrived a minute or two before.”

Leaning back against the seat, I coughed into my hand. “I’m sorry, did you say Roxas?”

“Yes. I took him home, then dropped off Vanitas.” Saix looked over. “Where do you live, Xion?”

She gave him directions, which he followed impeccably. When we got to her house, I hopped out of the car, and opened the door for her. I walked her up to her doorstep, as it had become night fairly fast.

“See you tomorrow in homeroom?” Xion asked, as she took her keys out of her bag.

I nodded my head. “Hey, Xion? May I text you sometime?”

“I would like that.” Her smile was enough of an answer for me. “Bye, Axel. Tell Saix thank you again for me.”

“I will.” I waited until she was inside, before I headed back to the car. Opening the passenger side, I climbed back in. “Thanks for picking us up, and for taking her home.” I buckled myself in.   
“It’s no problem.” Saix said, as he drove to my house. “Did you really go up on the clock tower?”

“I did!” I chuckled, surprised by it myself. “I had no idea where she was taking me. But, I just let her lead, and kept my eyes closed.”

“You really trust her, don’t you?” Saix pulled up in front of my house. I nodded, and grabbed my bag. “It’s nice to see you this happy, Lea.”

I smirked. He hadn’t used that name in quite a long time. You see, my first name was Lea, and my middle name was Axel. However, I prefer to be called by my middle name. Just like Saix.

“Cut it out, Isa. You know I hate that name.” I opened the car door, and closed it. I heard the window roll down, so I turned back around.”

“Goodnight, LEA.” Saix yelled, before taking off down the street. I started to laugh, surprised by how good I was feeling.

* * *

**A/N** : Up next, a second date, and perhaps something else. ^_^ Thank you for reading!

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy AkuShi Day! :D

...

I couldn’t tell you what happened the rest of the week. It passed by so fast, I’m not even sure I was even present for it. Xion and Roxas took up residence next to my desk in our homeroom class, like they had always been sitting there. I would sneak glances at Xion whenever I had the opportunity to, and had caught her looking at me on a few different occasions. The two of them had joined our group for lunch two more times that week, as they had some sort of club meeting to go to on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

It surprised me how well everyone seemed to be getting along. I hadn’t seen Saix warm up to someone that quickly, as it seemed that he and Xion were kindred spirits. Both were bookworms. Hell, I was just happy to listen to their conversations, even if I didn’t have much to contribute. It was better than listening to Vanitas practically throw himself at Roxas, with the blonde doing nothing to discourage him.

We all piled into Saix’ car after school on Friday, as he had volunteered to drive us home. I had lost two out of three hands of rock-paper-scissors, so I got to sit in the backseat with Xion. We were becoming more and more comfortable with each other, as she naturally slid closer to me, so I could put my arm around her small waist. I let Roxas sit in the seat behind Vanitas, so he could lean forward and do whatever he felt was necessary, which the raven haired teen seemed to appreciate. Score one for me.

“So, are you two doing anything this weekend?” Saix asked, as he drove towards Roxas’ house first. He didn’t really say who the question was for, so I was quite surprised when Vanitas began to speak.

“Maybe we do.” He cocked a grin, and lowered his sunglasses to look over at us. I glanced to the side, and saw Roxas’ cheeks were a little red, embarrassed about something. Huh, now that was interesting. “I know Axe and Shi are going out tomorrow, right?”

“Yes!” Xion’s reply was muffled, as her face was pressed against my chest. I chuckled softly, and ran my fingers through her short hair, hoping that my rapidly beating heart wasn’t freaking her out too much. I was on pins and needles about the date tomorrow night, only because I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen.

The car came to a stop in front of Roxas’ house. “Thanks for the ride, Sai. I’ll give you some gas money on Monday.” The petite kid got out of the car.

“I think I’ll walk the rest of the way home.” Vanitas hopped out the car, the smile still plastered on his face. “See you guys later?”

He ran up to Roxas, before any of us could say anything to him. Saix rolled up the window, and looked in the rearview mirror, meeting my eyes. I wasn’t sure what I saw there, but I knew there was a question lingering in the air. I looked at Xion, and saw she was gathering her things.

“Xion?” I asked, not sure what she was doing. She got out of the car, and moved to sit in the front seat with Saix. I smiled, and sat back on the seat, both happy and sad at the same time. Happy that she had done that on her own, without Saix begging one of us to move, and sad because she was no longer close to me.

Saix looked over at her. “Home, Xion?”

“Yes, please.” She nodded her head.

“So, what’s the deal with Van and Rox?” I asked, hoping one of them would answer my question.

Xion giggled. “It seems that they like each other.”

“Really, Sherlock?” I teased her, leaning between the two seats to be closer to the two of them. She punched my shoulder playfully, making me groan. “Why do you always resort to violence with me?” I whined, trying to keep the smile off my face.

“Because she knows you’re an idiot.” Saix replied, a smirk on his face. “I think Van said he’s taking Roxas out to dinner tonight, which is why he got out of the car.”

“Did you know that he was going to do that?” I asked, meeting my best friend’s eyes. Saix nodded, and gave a small shrug of his shoulders.

“He quit smoking.” Saix added.

“Shut up.” Was it actually true? Had what I said to him actually worked? Holy crap. I mean, I thought something had been different, but I hadn’t been able to place my finger on it. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen him light up a smoke since Monday morning before class.

The car pulled to a stop, as Xion tried to control her laughter. “Thanks for the ride, Sai.” She smiled, and got out of the car. I jumped out, and kept the door open for her. “You walking me to my door, Axel?” She asked, pushing some of her hair behind her ear.

“I was thinking about it.” I closed the car door, and began to walk up the path to her house. “Are we still on for tomorrow night?” I hoped that my voice didn’t shake as bad as I thought it had sounded. Why I was suddenly nervous was beyond me, as it wasn’t like I was spending more time with her.

“Yes.” She put her key into the lock. “Text me an hour before you plan on coming over?” The door opened with the twist of her hand on the knob.

“You got it.” I flashed a big smile at her, knowing that I probably looked goofy, but I didn’t care. It was just how she made me feel. Hearing her laugh more, as she closed the door, put a little bounce into my step.

“Feel like getting some coffee before I take you home?” Saix asked, as I buckled in, now sitting up in the front passenger seat.

“I could go for an espresso.” I nodded in agreement, as Saix pulled away from the curb. “My treat, since you’re driving.”

“I won’t say no.” Saix smirked, as he drove towards our favorite coffee shop.

After we got our drinks, and two different pastries, we headed to one of the tables outside in the back. There were two heaters on, plus the overhead heater, which made the patio nice and toasty. Smoke wafted around us, as this was where most of the smokers congregated. The smell of nicotine was nice and familiar, but it didn’t make me crave wanting to smoke one myself. I was just satisfied to be around the second hand smoke, and I think Sai knew that, as he picked up his coffee, and sipped it gingerly.

“So, why’d you want to get coffee, Isa?” I cut right to the chase. You see, it wasn’t everyday that my best friend would just invite me out for coffee, just to do something. No, there was always an ulterior motive behind his suggestions.

“Are you planning on asking Xion to be your girlfriend?” His lips barely moved, as he took another sip of his coffee, keeping the cup in front of his mouth.

Shrugging my shoulders, I broke off some of the chocolate chip cookie I had ordered. “I’m not sure. I think so? I mean, what if she says no?”

“She isn’t going to say no, Lea.” Saix set his cup down. “I know that Vanitas is planning on asking Roxas out on another date.”

“What? What if their date goes horribly wrong?” I knew it wasn’t likely for that to happen, but it was nice to think about it.

“I don’t know how it could. It seems that Roxas is rather taken with him, not like you’d notice.” I knew he was chastising me for how I’d been when they joined our group for lunch. “But, that isn’t why I asked you to join me.”

I sat back in the chair, and munched more on my cookie. “Then, why’d you ask me here?”

“How old is Xion? “

“Sixteen, I think. Maybe closer to seventeen. I’m actually not sure.” I felt silly, not knowing just how old she was. I mean, it wasn’t like I had gone and searched through her records, before we started talking. I ran my hand through my hair, the simple action soothing my frayed nerves.

“And is Roxas the same age?” Saix asked. I nodded my head, remembering that they almost shared a birthday, but I couldn’t remember the darn month. “So, you’re nineteen, and Vanitas is eighteen, going on twelve.”

I almost choked on my coffee, as I had taken that moment to swallow. Coughing a little, I wiped off my mouth, as I saw my best friend wearing a smirk on his face. “Bastard.” I muttered, chuckling against my better judgement.

“Yes, well. Name calling is pointless.” Saix pushed some of his hair back. “So, if you’re with Xion, and Vanitas is with Roxas, where does that leave me?”

It was like a light bulb had gone off. “Oh, shit…”

“As much as I enjoy driving the lot of you around, it would be nice if I could invite someone along.” Saix picked at his food, not meeting my eyes.

“Isa, what aren’t you telling me?” I asked, knowing the moment he couldn’t look at me, that there was something going on.

“Must you call me by my first name like that?” Saix’ cheeks were now a telltale pink. “It’s nothing serious, but I’ve been talking to someone.”

“What?! Since when? Does Van know?” I set my cup down, and leaned forward. “Why haven’t you said anything to me before now?”

Saix pushed the plate away. “No, he doesn’t know yet. You’re the only one I’ve told, and it’s not even a thing. It’s just talking, and who knows. But, it’s been happening off and on for the past month, so imagine my relief when you started to talk to Xion.”

“I cannot believe you’ve kept this from me for that long!” I shook my head. “What’s her name? Or is it a he?” It was no secret that Sai batted for both teams, but I didn’t want to assume if that wasn’t the case. I mean, what kind of best friend would I be if I had done that?

Now it was his turn to almost choke, as he coughed up what little coffee he had swallowed. “You’re such a dick.” Saix cleared his throat. “It’s a guy.”

“Does he go to our school?” He nodded. “Do I know him?” Another simple nod. “Is he in our grade?” One more nod. “Damn it, Isa. Who the hell is it?”

His phone began to ring, the song sounding somewhat familiar to me. I couldn’t place it, but it didn’t matter, as Saix turned the ringer off. “Sorry about that. I thought I had told him I’d call him later tonight, but it looks like I forgot.”

“Oh my goooood, Isa. Who the hell is it?” I reached for his phone, but he pushed my hands away. “Don’t be rude!” I teased, reaching for the phone. We both knew I could easily overpower him and take it from him, but I wasn’t trying to be mean.

“You can’t laugh. I didn’t laugh when you told us you liked Xion. Just remember that.” He said, as he finished sending a text to whoever had just called him. “Remember, I stood up for you, when Vanitas teased the shit out of you.”

I groaned, and rolled my eyes. “Yes, fine. You are the best best friend I could ever wish for. You are the one that knows all of my secrets, so just tell me yours already, sheesh.”

“Zexion.”

He had said a name. But I didn’t think I heard him right. “Exsqueeze me?” I blinked. “Baking powder?”

“Why must you resort to quoting movies.” Saix sipped his coffee. “You heard me.”

“The kid that spends all of his free time in the library? Seriously, Isa?” I asked. I actually thought it was a good fit, as they shared a lot of common interests, but I was having too much fun teasing him to tell him that. I could see that I was getting to him, as his eyes narrowed into small slits. I started laughing, and shook my head. “Isa, I’m joking. Lighten up!”

Saix accepted the answer, and his death glare disappeared. “You don’t know him like I do.”

“May I ask how this all began? You know my tragic tale.” Resting my elbows on the table, I balanced my chin on my palms, and batted my eyelashes.

“I’m going to tell Xion you said that, after she accepts being your girlfriend.”

“You wouldn’t.” I flicked some of my crumbs off of my plate at him. “You’re terrible.”

“Do you want to know, or do you want to keep going back and forth?”

“Fine.” I exhaled loudly. “Indulge me, since you know, I _did_ ask.”

I saw a look I had never seen in Saix’ eyes suddenly manifest. “I guess it just happened. One day, he was the guy that hung out in the bookstacks, and then next, I was standing there with him.”

“Oh, no.” I smirked, and finished off my coffee.

“What?” Those amber eyes lost their sparkle, as a look of confusion appeared.

“You’ve got it bad.” I looked around, and noticed that the patio was filling up with more people. I looked down at my watch. “Shit. It’s late. I need to get home.”

“Right.” Saix finished off his coffee and stood up. “I’m ready, if you are.”

“I am.”

We headed back to his car. As he drove me home, I looked at him. “What?” His tone sounded irritated, but only mildly so.

“Are you going to ask him out?”

“I don’t know yet. I doubt it, since you know I’m never one to make the first move.” He gave a shrug of his shoulders, as he pulled up to my house.

“If I ask her to be my girlfriend, and she says yes, then you have to ask him out.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and picked up my bag. “Deal?”

“That is a terrible deal.” Saix grabbed my extended hand, and shook it. “Guess I’ll be asking him out on a date.”

I shut the door, and waited for him to roll down the window. “You don’t know that. She could decide that I’m the biggest loser on the planet, and would much rather spend her time worshipping someone that’s in her grade.”

“I wish you would give yourself more credit, Lea.” Saix gave a wave of his hand. “Have fun with your parents tomorrow. Don’t mess up your date.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, dumbass.” I turned on my heel and headed up to my house.

Self-deprecation was my forte, as it was my defense mechanism. I couldn’t think that she would actually want to be my girlfriend. It had been a long time since I had been in a relationship, that I was really scared I was going to muck this up somehow. And if this didn’t work, and Van and Roxas did, what then? Would it be awkward lunches? Or would she hide away from me? I’ve been crushing on her for so long, do I want to lose that? I dropped my bag in the hallway.

“Ma! I’m home!” I called out, as I hung up my jacket on the coat hook. “Dinner almost ready?”

“In about ten minutes!” She called out from the kitchen. Good, that’s enough time to go over in my head just how lame I was going to sound in about twenty-hours from now. Joy.

...

The next day time seemed to move slower than molasses. Or maybe paint. Paint takes way too long to dry, and I am an impatient person. I’m notorious for trying to move a painting in art before it’s finished drying. I don’t have time to care, and just wind up with paint on my clothes, and an earful of Namine’s melodious laughter tones in my ear. As we pulled back into our driveway, I hopped out and ran into the house.

Running upstairs, I quickly stripped and grabbed my towel. I wrapped it around my waist, and darted back out to the bathroom, and almost ran into my mom. I skidded to a stop, gripping my towel tightly.

“Why are you in such a rush, Axel?” She had let out a squeak when we had almost run into each other, and was now clutching her chest. “Slow down!”

“Ma!” I felt awful. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just….” My hand gravitated towards my hair, as I tugged on a few follicles. “I’ve got a date with Xion in an hour, and I gotta get ready. I thought we’d be home sooner, but traffic decided otherwise.”

“Just don’t be in a rush. That’s how accidents happen.” Her smile made me feel a little bit better. “Do you want to borrow my car?”

I looked down at my feet, feeling like a doofus. I had forgotten to ask. “Yes, m’am.”

“Just make sure she’s home by when her parents want her home. You understand?” She patted my back gently. “It’s so nice to see you like someone, Axel. It’s been a long time.”

“It has.” I agreed. Neither of us acknowledged just why it had been so long, as we both knew it was a mistake to bring it up. “So, I can borrow the car?”

“Yes. Go shower.”

After I showered, I decided to shave, even though I barely had any stubble. I just wanted an excuse to put my aftershave on, as I never bothered to put it on. Kids in my grade don’t shave as often as I need to, thanks to me having to repeat a grade. I don’t think Xion would want to feel any scruff on her cheeks or neck. I slapped some of the sandalwood scented aftershave on, and left the bathroom, keeping the door open to clear out the steam.

Heading into my bedroom, I saw my phone was flashing, indicating either a missed call or a text. Picking up my phone, I saw it was a text, from the girl I was going to be seeing shortly. “ _Are we still on for tonight?_ ”

“ _Of course. Ack! I forgot to text you earlier! I’ll be picking you up in about 20 minutes. Sorry, traffic kind of sucked on the way back home.”_ I sat the phone down, and went to my closet. Too many choices. I heard my phone vibrate, but didn’t bother to look, as I was trying to find the best thing to wear.

I knew it was going to be a chilly evening, so I opted for a long sleeve heather grey shirt, and black slacks. Putting myself together, I pushed my hair behind my ear. After I had shaved, I had decided to blow dry it straight, which took a little bit longer than I had hoped. I hardly ever wore it down, and was surprised by how long it was. I headed out, grabbing my phone.

“ _See you then!_ ” The message that had come through while I was dilly-dallying was a reply from Xion. My stomach began to twist nervously, which was silly since we’d been handsy all week at lunch. Where was this sudden nervousness coming from? Oh, right. The fear of rejection on the edge of my mind was wearing me down. Gotta stay positive, and hope that I was just imagining things that weren’t actually going to happen.

Grabbing my black trench coat from the closet, I slipped it on. I walked into the living room, and saw my mom watching television. “Alright, Ma. I’m heading out. Keys?”

“Kitchen counter. Have a good time tonight, Axel. Remember what I said.”

“I know, Ma. See you later!” I walked into the kitchen and saw the keys, plus an extra $50. I sighed. “Ma!”

“Take it, Axel!” She called out. “I won’t take no, and if it’s still there when I go in there, there will be hell to pay, mister.”

“Fine, fine.” I pocketed the cash. I grabbed my yellow and brown scarf, wrapping it around my neck, as I left the house.

The drive over to her house was quick. Time had seemed to start accelerating at an abnormal rate, whereas the rest of the day it had been painfully slow. I’m not sure which I preferred, as I didn’t want this night to go too fast, but I think it was going to be out of my control. Putting the car into park, I got out, and walked up to the front door. I knocked three times, and stepped back, my heart pounding hard in my chest.

“Good evening, Axel.” Xion’s mother opened the door for me. “Xion will be down in a moment. Won’t you come inside?”

Wiping my feet off on the welcome mat, I stuck my hands in my pockets and walked inside to the warmth of their house. “Thank you.”

“Axel!” Xion came bouncing down the stairs, a bright smile on her face. Any fear I had before suddenly disappeared, as I basked in the warmth she radiated. “Sorry for making you wait!” She raced over to me, and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

“Nice to see you too, Xion.” I smiled, hugging her back. I didn’t know if I should stop or not, but it seemed that her mother didn’t seem to mind the affectionate gesture too much. I took a quick look out of the side of my eye, and saw a smile on her face. Relaxing into the embrace, I gave Xion a quick squeeze before letting her go. “Are you ready?” I asked her, while I looked at what she was wearing.

She wore a knee length skirt with a pair of red paisley tights, and her combat boots. She wore a maroon sweater, picking up the darker red accents in her tights. I shook my head, and smiled.

“I am!” She nodded. “Mom? What time should I be home?”

“Midnight.” Her mother replied. My eyes widened at the time, expecting her to say she needed to be back by 10:45 like the week before.

“Okay!” Xion’s voice was bubbling with excitement. “I’ll be quiet when I come back in!” She kissed her mom’s cheek, and picked up her purse. I opened the front door for her, and watched as she bounced out of the house.

“I’ll have her home before midnight, M’am.” I gave her mom’s hand a shake. She chuckled softly, and let go of my hand.

“I know, Axel. Just be careful.”

“Yes, M’am!” I closed the door on my way out.

Xion was waiting patiently by the car, the coat she had put on making her look absolutely adorable. I opened the car door for her. Her lips brushed my cheek, as she got into the car. My skin burned where they had touched, the happiness contagious. I got into the car, buckled in, and turned the heat up.

“So, what are we doing tonight?” Xion asked, setting her purse on the floor.

“I’m not sure.” I grinned, and pulled away from the curb. “Did you have anything in mind?”

“Want to get some dinner? I’m starving.” She reached for my right hand, which I had left casually situated between our two seats. The giddiness began to return as our fingers interlocked, our palms pressing together.

“Food sounds good. Maybe a movie after?” I asked, as I drove us towards the center of town.

“Sure!”

After we parked, we headed towards one of the popular burger joints. “Burgers good, Shi?” I asked, looking at her smiling face. Gosh, how did I end up here? I still couldn’t figure out how this all had happened.

“Burgers sound amazing.” Xion agreed, and we walked towards the restaurant together.

The wait for a table was fifteen minutes, so we took a seat on the bench outside, where there were less people. Well, I took a seat on the bench, and Xion decided that my lap made a better resting spot than the freezing cold bench. Can’t say I blamed her, and I rather enjoyed having her in such a position. I rested my head against her back, as my arms wrapped around her middle protectively.

“Comfy?” I asked. Her laughter reverberated through her chest, tickling the side of my face.

“Oh, yes.” She placed her hands on top of mine. “I’m glad we’re out tonight, Axel.”

“Me too.”

I closed my eyes, and just reveled in her being so close to me. It was one thing to be touchy-feely at lunch, but this? This was something else, and I quite liked it. I could feel her drawing patterns on my hands, the gentle caress of her fingers quite soothing. It was so calming, that I almost didn’t hear her speak.

“Oh, my gosh.” Xion’s voice was quiet. “Axel? Axel, are you seeing this?”

“Hmm?” I opened my eyes, trying to focus on what she was excited about. “What? Do you see someone? It’s not Roxas, is it?” I didn’t want to deal with another person tonight. I just wanted it to be the two of us. I guess I was being selfish, but I didn’t care. This was our date. Not a threesome.

“No, not quite. But close.” Xion turned, and touched my face. I sighed softly, lost in her touch, while she was trying to direct my head in a certain direction. “Axel, pay attention and look!” She chastised me in a teasing tone.

Taking a look, I saw just who she saw. “He moved faster than I thought he would.” I remarked, a smirk on my face.

“You knew about this?” Xion let go of my chin. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just found out last night!” I chuckled softly, kissing her cheek with a silent apology.

It looked like Saix and Zexion were enjoying dinner together in the restaurant, completely clueless to everyone. I grabbed my phone, and started to type a text to him. “Let’s see if he’ll check his phone. If he doesn’t, that means he’s got it bad.”

“I didn’t know they knew each other.” Xion remarked. We both watched them like a hawk, waiting to see if Saix was going to check his phone. He made no movement, but it didn’t matter, as that was the time they called us to be seated.

“They’ve been talking a bit this past month.” I said, as I slid into the booth. I thought Xion was going to sit across from me, but she sat next to me. The waiter set our menus down, and took our drink order before leaving us alone. I unbuttoned my coat, and helped Xion take off hers. I set them on the bench across from us, and felt that happiness return as she slid against the side of my body, my arm wrapping around her naturally.

“Well, that’s good.” She nodded her head, handing me a menu. “I...Um… I hope you don’t mind me sitting next to you like this?”

“Why would I mind?” I asked. “I rather like you being this close to me.” I smiled, pushing some of my hair behind my ear.

“Your hair down looks nice.” Her fingers touched the strands that were hanging over my shoulder. “Did you do this for me?”

“I did everything for you.”

“Axel….” The way the blush crept up on her cheeks made my face start to hurt, thanks to my smiling.

“Listen, I’ve got a question to ask you.” Taking on a serious tone, I removed my arm, as she turned to look at me.

Before I could ask her, the waiter arrived at our table, and took our order. After our drinks were brought, that’s when I looked back at her. I felt like I was going to throw up, but knew I had to ask this, as I really didn’t want to wait until the end of the evening. If I was going to be rejected, I’d prefer to get it out of the way, and just enjoy dinner as friends. Even though it hurt to think like that, as that wasn’t what I wanted.

“Are you going to ask, or are you just going to make me sit here, and wallow in my anxiety?” She asked, nervously laughing.

I blushed, and looked at her.”Sorry, it’s been a really long time since I’ve done this. Um, do you want to be my girlfriend?” Once the words were out, I couldn’t take them back. Not that I wanted to.

“....I thought I already was?” Xion stated, laughing once more.

My shoulder dropped, as relief washed over me. “Oh, shit. Really?” I asked, feeling like a complete moron. “Did I already ask you, and I forgot? Because this has been making me nervous the past few days.”

“No, you hadn’t asked me, but I didn’t think you needed to.” Xion pressed her face against my chest, as her arm circled my chest. “Yes, of course I’ll be your girlfriend, dummy.”

“Already with the nicknames.” I laughed, and hugged her back as best as I could. Which was really the most awkward hug. I kissed the top of her head. “Just don’t call me jerk, because that might break my heart.”

“I guess I can stay away from that,” she teased me, as we went back to just sitting close to one another.

After we finished dinner, talking amicably about everything and nothing, we walked back to my car, holding hands. As we approached the car, I stopped.

“What is it?” Xion asked. “Did you forget something?”

I shook my head. “No, but it’s still early. Did you not want to see a movie? It’s barely 9pm.”

“How about we take a drive?” She suggested. “Unless you’d rather go to the movies?”

Thinking about it, I couldn’t see the harm in taking a nice drive around. “A drive sounds nice. But, movies next week?”

“Yes, please.” Xion’s smile made my heart beat faster.

I decided to drive out towards the beach, as I always enjoyed looking at the ocean at night. It was going to be way too cold to go out and walk, but I knew of a scenic spot where we could park. As we headed out that way, I put in one of my cds, and hoped that she wasn’t going to criticize me of my music choices.

“I didn’t know you liked this band.” Glancing over, I saw she was looking out at the road. “This is one of my favorite bands.”

“You’re just saying that to humor me,” I replied, putting my eyes back on the road.

“No, really. I love Oingo Boingo. Danny Elfman is a genius. I think my favorite album is ‘Only a Lad’.”

That’s it. This was the girl that I was going to be falling hopelessly in love with. “You do know your stuff.” I commented, a smirk on my face. “I take back what I said.”

“Thanks, dummy.” She grinned, making me laugh.

We got to the spot around 10, as it was a bit out of the city limits. But, again, the time seemed to fly by, as we both talked about our favorite music. We had a lot more in common that I had ever hoped, and conversation seemed to just flow. I pulled up to the scenic spot, and saw that we were the only car there. I began to feel a bit nervous, as I didn’t know how she was going to react to this, but I couldn’t think of anywhere else I wanted to drive to. I put the car into park, and turned it off.

“It’s beautiful up here.” We both looked out at the ocean, where the moon’s reflection seemed to make the water sparkle. “Do you come here a lot?”

“I do.” I admitted, and pushed the seat back as far as it could go, which wasn’t very far, as I was tall. “I come here to think, or to just get away from stuff.”

“Oh? Like what?” She asked, pushing her seat back to be at the same angle as mine. She let the chair recline as far as it could, and laid on her side, looking at me.

“Just bad thoughts in my head,” I spoke quietly. “But, those thoughts have seemed to disappear when we started talking.”

“I’m glad I’m able to do that for you.” Xion reached for me. “Will you come sit over here with me? I promise, no funny stuff.” She scoot over on the seat, opening a spot for me.

The want was there. I wanted to sit next to her, but I didn’t want to freak her out. My body was already responding to how she looked sitting there, bathed in moonlight. She was stunning, and was making it very difficult for me to keep my hormones at bay. Deciding honesty would probably be the best course of action, I bit my lip and looked at her.

“I’m afraid of sitting that close to you.” I already felt better, hearing the truth.

“Then, how about we go sit in the backseat? I just want to cuddle, Axel. I like being in your arms. I feel safe. I know you won’t do anything I don’t want you to do.” Her encouraging words made me nod my head, as we both put the seats back into a normal position. “No coats?” I agreed with a nod of my head, as we stripped out of our coats, and I took off my scarf, setting it on the seat.

I climbed into the backseat first, not wanting her to be worried about me seeing things I probably shouldn’t, since she was wearing a skirt. Just like at the restaurant, she sat on my lap, but instead of her back to my chest, she was facing towards me. My arms gravitated towards her hips, where I encircled her body, pulling her close to me.

Breathing in, I could smell hints of cherry blossom mixed with vanilla. This was perfect, absolutely perfect. I closed my eyes, and just listened to our hearts beat, the sound quite calming.

“Penny for your thoughts? I asked, running my fingers through her hair.

“Just thinking how nice this is.” Her breath tickled the side of my neck. “Also wondering about something.”

“Oh? And what are you wondering about?” I stopped playing with her, as she sat up on my lap, and looked at me.

Her lips grazed against mine tentatively, the slight hesitation making my head spin. I adjusted myself on the seat, and parted my lips for her, as I felt her tongue enter my mouth. I sighed low, as we kissed each other, each brush of our tongues sending an electric shock through my body. Soon, our kisses became more heated, as she pressed her chest against mine, sliding up naturally to be perched higher on my thighs.

I broke off the kiss, panting softly. “Shi….”

“What?” She asked, her lips kiss swollen. “Why’d you stop?”

“Because, I don’t want this to go too far, too fast.” I confessed. “Shi, this is our second date. I brought us out here because I wanted to share one of my favorite spots. I don’t want you to think I’m just trying to get into your pants.”

Resting her head against my shoulder, she gave a small nod of her head. “I know you’re not, Axel. I just….”

“You what?” I asked her, tilting her face to look up at me. “What is it, Xion?”

“I know you’re older, and I’m sure you’re more experienced than I am. I thought that maybe because of that, you wanted more from me.” That blush was back, and it was sending my heart into a frenzy.

“Never, Xion.” I shook my head. “I already enjoy what you and I have together. This is nice. It’s nice to just sit, talk, and touch you. I mean, not in a sexual way. I mean to say, in a sexual way, but not in the way you’re-”

Her fingers pressed against my lips. “You’re babbling, Axel.” She giggled softly. “I know what you mean.”

Kissing those fingertips, I rested my forehead against hers. “I’m never going to ask you to do anything. Just because I’m older doesn’t mean I’m some sex crazed maniac. Get that thought out of your head, okay?”

“I never said that….” Xion shook her head, her nose rubbing against mine. “Please don’t think that I think that way.”

“You’re my girlfriend now, Shi.” I kissed the tip of her nose, a smile on my face. “Maybe we’ll have sex. I don’t know. Have you had sex before?” I asked, figuring it was better to ask, than assume she was a virgin.

“No, but I’ve done almost everything but.” Her face was buried against my neck, no doubt hiding from her admission. I laughed, hugging her close.

“Wow, Xion. I had no idea you were such a sex kitten.”

“I’m not, he was just….”

“Say no more.” I turned my face, and kissed her softly. Once I felt her relax, I pulled away, and gave her a soft smile. “I’m not him.”

“I know,” her voice was barely audible.

“I’m scared too, if that helps you feel any better.”

Her blue eyes locked onto mine. “Why?”

“I’ve been hurt before, badly. But, I don’t want to talk about that tonight. That’s for our fifth date.” I winked, and enjoyed the soft gales of laughter escaping past her lips. Looking down at my watch, I sighed. “Looks like our time is up, sweetpea. It’s gonna take about forty-five minutes to get you back home.”

“Thank you, Axel.” Her arms wrapped around my neck tightly, as she clung to me.

I hugged her back just as fierce. “You’re welcome.” I kissed her lips softly once more. “Let’s get you home.”

* * *

 **A/N:**  So, I've got the next few chapters planned, but I wanted to know if you guys prefer this story to stay T, or should I bump it up to M? I'm tempted to make it mature, but I'm not sure how much interest there is to see that. If you're interested, please let me know, or if you'd prefer this to stay PG/PG-13, that is okay too. :) Thanks so much for reading! 


End file.
